The Hindu : Kerala News : Agnivesh seeks white paper on Gujarat riots

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 01, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Agnivesh seeks white paper on Gujarat riots

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, MAY 31. The Arya Samaj leader and social activist, Swami Agnivesh, has urged the Union Home Minister to bring out a white paper on the Godhra carnage and the subsequent riots that took place in Gujarat.

He also demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into the "subversion of democracy, constitution and the judiciary in Gujarat". The inquiry should delve into the reasons behind the carnage and its provocation and the manner in which the Sabarmati Express was set on fire, Mr. Agnivesh told media persons here today.

Mr. Agnivesh was highly critical of the alleged role of the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, in the riots and the subsequent events that took place.

"Mr. Modi's Government played dirty tricks to subvert the judicial process and the investigation into the riots. While the Supreme Court has ordered the trial of a few cases of Gujarat riots be shifted to courts outside the State, the relatives of those who were killed have also demanded that trials of rest of the cases should also be held outside Gujarat, he said.

Many of the leaders of the NDA have stated that the Gujarat incidents spelled doom for the alliance in the election. Taking into account the defeat in the election, the BJP should do an introspection and end its ties with the RSS, he said.

The hardcore Hindutva policies pursued by the Togadias and the Singhals have injected communalism and violence into the body politic. This has brought a bad name for the Hindus of the country and even posed a threat to the Hindu culture, he said.

However, the people, in general, have rejected the divisive, communal and fascist tendencies of the NDA. While the minorities voted carefully in the election throughout the country, the Hindu society needs to be congratulated for the stand they took in the election, he said.

The BJP was defeated at Ayodhya, Mathura and Kashi and their leaders such as Vinay Katiyar and Murli Manohar Joshi suffered setbacks in the election.

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