New Delhi: Prime minister Narendra Modi has said that Gujarat had a long history of communal riots, even before he was “in the picture” and pointed to the “backdrop” of a spate of terror attacks before the violence to say that the perception that the riots were the biggest ever in the state was “misinformation”. He also accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government of making “relentless efforts” to hold him responsible for the violence.
In a podcast with Lex Fridman on March 16, Modi said that the 2002 Gujarat riots in which over 1,000 people – mostly Muslims – were killed, took place in the backdrop of a spate of terror attacks including the 1999 Kandahar hijacking, the 2000 Red Fort attack, the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament and the 9/11 terror attack in the US.
“Within just 8-10 months these major global terrorist attacks took place. Violent incidents that led to loss of lives. In such an environment even the smallest part can ignite unrest. The situation had become extremely volatile,” he said.
Referring to the Sabarmati Express incident at Gujarat’s Godhra station in which 59 people were killed in February 2002, Modi said that in the backdrop of terror attacks the situation was “tense and volatile”.
“On February 27, 2002, we were seated in the Assembly for the budget session. That same day, it had been just three days since I’d become a state representative when suddenly, the horrific Godhra incident occurred,” he said.
“It was a tragedy of unimaginable magnitude. People were burned alive. Of course, this was tragic for everyone. You can imagine in the backdrop of incidents like the Kandahar hijacking, the attack on Parliament or even 9/11 and then to have so many people killed and burnt alive you can imagine how tense and volatile the situation was. Everyone prefers peace,” said Modi.
Several have questioned Modi’s claims on what underwent in Godhra on that day. In an analysis, Prem Shankar Jha had noted that the “lies and false narratives built around” the burning train had kept Narendra Modi in power in Gujarat, and started him on the road to becoming the prime minister of India.
Modi said that the perception that the 2002 Gujarat riots were the biggest in the state, was “misinformation” pointing to riots in 1969 that continued for six months. He said that over 250 significant riots had taken place before 2002.
“The perception that these were the biggest riots ever is misinformation. If you review the data from before 2002, you will see that Gujarat faced frequent riots,” he said.
“Curfews were constantly being imposed somewhere. Communal violence could erupt over trivial issues, like kite flying contests or even minor bicycle collisions. Before 2002, Gujarat witnessed over 250 significant riots. The riots in 1969 lasted nearly six months. So there was a long history, long before I was in the picture.”
While the Atal Behari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government was in power when the riots took place, Modi said that “political opponents” had made “relentless efforts” to implicate him.
“But that one tragic incident in 2002 became a sparking point, leading some people towards violence. Yet, the judiciary thoroughly investigated the matter. At that time, our political opponents were in power, and naturally, they wanted all allegations against us to stick,” said Modi referring to the subsequent UPA government that came to power in 2004.
“Despite their relentless efforts, the judiciary analysed the situation meticulously twice and ultimately found us completely innocent. Those who were truly responsible have faced justice from the courts,” he said.
