A day after the Supreme Court rejected Zakia Jafri’s plea to challenge Narendra Modi’s clean chit against Narendra Modi in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riot case, Interior Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday that Prime Minister Modi has suffered silently for 19 years, just like “Lord Shiva swallowed poison and held it in his throat.”
Speaking to news agency ANI, Shah said: “Only a strong-willed person could have stood up and said nothing, as the matter was in court,” adding that Modi, who was then Gujarat’s chief minister, always believed in the law.
“I am pleased that Modiji has set the example that regardless of the charge, he has always believed in the law and upheld the constitution,” Shah further told ANI.
Shah said very little can be done about those who still blame Prime Minister Modi for the riots in Gujarat, even after several courts, including the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court, have issued a similar verdict over the years. Shah further demanded an apology from those who filed “politically motivated” charges against Modi, speaking to ANI in an interview
“NGOs were constantly looking for more data in the case so that Modiji is blamed… The NGOs that partner with Zakia, and political parties that fund these NGOs, and media groups that support these NGOs, wanted political gain,” he said.
In his attack on the current “satyagraha” protests by congress leaders against the ouster of Rahul Gandhi’s enforcement directorate, Shah said BJP never resorted to “dharna of drama” when Modi was questioned by the SIT. “This is not the first clean chit given to Modiji, he has done no drama to appear before the SIT. We believed in the legal process and Modiji agreed to cooperate,” Shah said.
When asked about the delay in the army’s arrival during the 2002 riots, Shah said: “As far as the Gujarat government is concerned, we were not late. On the day Gujarat bandh was called, we called ourselves that afternoon the army added. It takes some time to reach the army… There was not even a day’s delay. The court appreciated it too.”
While dismissing Zafri’s plea on Friday, the highest court ruled that “the appeal was unfounded”. The plea for the SC was presented by Zakia Zafri, wife of Congresswoman Ehsan Jafri, who was hacked to death during the riots in Gujarat after rioters penetrated Gulbarg society.
