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29-10-2007, 06:33 PM
Tehelka expose: Modi should go, says Cong
NDTV Correspondent
Friday, October 26, 2007 (New Delhi)
Condemning the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s ''deafening'' silence on the Tehelka expose into the 2002 Gujarat communal killings and Chief Minister Narendra Modi's alleged active role in it, the Congress party on Friday demanded that he step down.
''If the constitution of India is to be upheld, if we still call ourselves as a civilised society, if the right to life has any meaning at all, if human rights are to be upheld, Narendra Modi should immediately step down from public office,'' Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan told reporters.
An undercover operation conducted by Tehelka weekly has caught Hindu activists who were accused in the sectarian riots as alleging that Modi ''sanctioned'' the 2002 riots in which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.
The ruling party has also slammed allegations by BJP leaders that the expos was the ''work of pre-election dirty tricks department of the Congress party,'' Natarajan said the BJP's response was ''callous and irresponsible''.
In another statement, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said the new revelation was ''proof that Modi and democracy are antithetical to each other''.
''He (Modi) considers himself above party and above the state. In Modi's Gujarat, Modi is not accountable to anybody,'' Sibal said, adding that the previous BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government had protected the Gujarat chief minister after the riots.
Joining the protest, UP Chief Minister Mayawati asked the Centre to institute a fresh CBI probe into the 2002 Gujarat riots in the wake of a sting operation.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mayawati said that after the sting operation aired on news channels and media reports, new facts about the Gujarat riots have come to the fore and a need has arisen for a CBI probe.
''BJP and its offshoots targeted the minority community and indulged in genocide. I request you to order a CBI probe to bring those communal elements involved in the gruesome act to book,'' the BSP chief said in the letter.
Gag on media
Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad collector has ordered the channels showing Tehelka expose to go off air in the city.
The collector Dhananjay Dwivedi has said airing of Tehelka sting could disturb communal peace in Ahmedabad.
The investigation, which was conducted on some VHP, Bajrang Dal and BJP leaders, has them on record, admitting to mass killings of Muslims.
One of those accused in the Naroda Patiya massacre claimed that Narendra Modi had himself gone and thanked him.
Tehelka alleges that the attack on every Muslim locality was meticulously planned and carried out by VHP, Bajrang Dal and BJP workers, who had organised weapons, arms and ammunition.
They claim that the courts were misled after the riots and government lawyers transferred so that the accused could get away.
Here are some of the excerpts from the on-camera confessions made by the Sangh Parivar leaders:
Babu Bajrangi: After killing them, I felt like Maharana Pratap.
Mangilal Jain: We dragged them out of their houses.
Anil Patel: The smallest village wasn't spared.
Key Sangh leaders also spoke openly of the support they got from Modi.
Babu Bajrangi: To get me out on bail, Narendra bhai changed judges thrice.
Haresh Bhatt: He has done what no other chief minister ever has.
Suresh Richard: We were blessed, he told us.
The police not just stood there and watched but also played their part, claims Tehelka.
Suresh Richard: The cops must have killed 70 or more.
Rajendra Vyas: Narendra bhai got the police on our side.
Ramesh Dave: All the cops helped, even gave us cartridges.
''Modi had given three days to do whatever we wanted to. He was extremely angry and there were meetings held in Baroda and Ahmedabad. The message from Modi was clear, to do whatever we could.
''Narmada Patia is an area where more than 200 people were killed, though the official figure is 109. Modi went there personally and congratulated people who had killed others and this is what the killers themselves have confessed on camera,'' said Sankarshan Thakur, Editor, Tehelka.
Reacting to the sting operation, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar said, ''We were expecting this kind of a political stunt. Since Congress cannot go directly to the people and give this message, they have used Tehelka.
Javdekar further said that: ''Tehelka is CIA, which means, Congress Investigating Agency. This story will not affect the elections in any way as Tehelka has already lost its credibility.''
Leaders from across the political freternity have reacted to the expose.
''The Election Commission should ensure that all those involved in the incident should not be allowed to contest elections,'' said A B Bardhan, General Secretary, CPI.
Firebrand RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav also could not refrain from commenting on the present political turmoil in Gujarat.
''Narendra Modi and all the others involved in the plot should be charged under various sections of IPC. They should be put behind bars and strict punishment should be given to them,'' said Lalu Prasad, Railway Minister. (With agency inputs)
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070030761&ch=10/26/2007+6:33:00+PM
NDTV Correspondent
Friday, October 26, 2007 (New Delhi)
Condemning the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s ''deafening'' silence on the Tehelka expose into the 2002 Gujarat communal killings and Chief Minister Narendra Modi's alleged active role in it, the Congress party on Friday demanded that he step down.
''If the constitution of India is to be upheld, if we still call ourselves as a civilised society, if the right to life has any meaning at all, if human rights are to be upheld, Narendra Modi should immediately step down from public office,'' Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan told reporters.
An undercover operation conducted by Tehelka weekly has caught Hindu activists who were accused in the sectarian riots as alleging that Modi ''sanctioned'' the 2002 riots in which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.
The ruling party has also slammed allegations by BJP leaders that the expos was the ''work of pre-election dirty tricks department of the Congress party,'' Natarajan said the BJP's response was ''callous and irresponsible''.
In another statement, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said the new revelation was ''proof that Modi and democracy are antithetical to each other''.
''He (Modi) considers himself above party and above the state. In Modi's Gujarat, Modi is not accountable to anybody,'' Sibal said, adding that the previous BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government had protected the Gujarat chief minister after the riots.
Joining the protest, UP Chief Minister Mayawati asked the Centre to institute a fresh CBI probe into the 2002 Gujarat riots in the wake of a sting operation.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mayawati said that after the sting operation aired on news channels and media reports, new facts about the Gujarat riots have come to the fore and a need has arisen for a CBI probe.
''BJP and its offshoots targeted the minority community and indulged in genocide. I request you to order a CBI probe to bring those communal elements involved in the gruesome act to book,'' the BSP chief said in the letter.
Gag on media
Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad collector has ordered the channels showing Tehelka expose to go off air in the city.
The collector Dhananjay Dwivedi has said airing of Tehelka sting could disturb communal peace in Ahmedabad.
The investigation, which was conducted on some VHP, Bajrang Dal and BJP leaders, has them on record, admitting to mass killings of Muslims.
One of those accused in the Naroda Patiya massacre claimed that Narendra Modi had himself gone and thanked him.
Tehelka alleges that the attack on every Muslim locality was meticulously planned and carried out by VHP, Bajrang Dal and BJP workers, who had organised weapons, arms and ammunition.
They claim that the courts were misled after the riots and government lawyers transferred so that the accused could get away.
Here are some of the excerpts from the on-camera confessions made by the Sangh Parivar leaders:
Babu Bajrangi: After killing them, I felt like Maharana Pratap.
Mangilal Jain: We dragged them out of their houses.
Anil Patel: The smallest village wasn't spared.
Key Sangh leaders also spoke openly of the support they got from Modi.
Babu Bajrangi: To get me out on bail, Narendra bhai changed judges thrice.
Haresh Bhatt: He has done what no other chief minister ever has.
Suresh Richard: We were blessed, he told us.
The police not just stood there and watched but also played their part, claims Tehelka.
Suresh Richard: The cops must have killed 70 or more.
Rajendra Vyas: Narendra bhai got the police on our side.
Ramesh Dave: All the cops helped, even gave us cartridges.
''Modi had given three days to do whatever we wanted to. He was extremely angry and there were meetings held in Baroda and Ahmedabad. The message from Modi was clear, to do whatever we could.
''Narmada Patia is an area where more than 200 people were killed, though the official figure is 109. Modi went there personally and congratulated people who had killed others and this is what the killers themselves have confessed on camera,'' said Sankarshan Thakur, Editor, Tehelka.
Reacting to the sting operation, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar said, ''We were expecting this kind of a political stunt. Since Congress cannot go directly to the people and give this message, they have used Tehelka.
Javdekar further said that: ''Tehelka is CIA, which means, Congress Investigating Agency. This story will not affect the elections in any way as Tehelka has already lost its credibility.''
Leaders from across the political freternity have reacted to the expose.
''The Election Commission should ensure that all those involved in the incident should not be allowed to contest elections,'' said A B Bardhan, General Secretary, CPI.
Firebrand RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav also could not refrain from commenting on the present political turmoil in Gujarat.
''Narendra Modi and all the others involved in the plot should be charged under various sections of IPC. They should be put behind bars and strict punishment should be given to them,'' said Lalu Prasad, Railway Minister. (With agency inputs)
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070030761&ch=10/26/2007+6:33:00+PM