His report is credible'

Published : May 20, 2011 00:00 IST

Prakash Karat: There seems to be reluctance on the part of the SIT to seriously investigate the role of Chief Minister Narendra Modi. - VIPIN CHANDRAN

Prakash Karat: There seems to be reluctance on the part of the SIT to seriously investigate the role of Chief Minister Narendra Modi. - VIPIN CHANDRAN

Interview with Prakash Karat, general secretary, CPI(M).

How significant are the revelations made by the Gujarat IPS officer in his affidavit implicating Chief Minister Narendra Modi, considering that there is a move to discredit the police officer?

The affidavit filed by the IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in the Supreme Court is highly revealing. It is well known that for the first 48 hours when the mobs ran amok attacking Muslims all over Gujarat, the police were silent spectators or, in some places, aided and abetted them. The affidavit provides the first concrete instance of why this happened. The Chief Minister, meeting with senior police officers, instructed them to allow Hindus to vent their anger. There is no reason to believe that a police officer would commit perjury and lie about being present at the meeting. His driver has also confirmed that he went to the venue of the meeting.

Apart from everything else, his report is credible because it matches with what really happened. Without instructions from the top, there could not have been inaction by the police all over the place.

We have seen in cases of widespread communal violence where, in some instances, the police act in a partisan manner but not to the extent when the entire state machinery becomes passive or complicit. There can be some individual instances of police inaction, but when it happens all over the State at the same time that is why what he says appears to be credible.

Do you feel that there has been a cover-up by the SIT as stated by Bhatt in his affidavit?

There seems to be reluctance on the part of the SIT to seriously investigate the role of Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier, too, a senior police officer, R.B. Sreekumar, had provided sufficient information about how the entire operation was managed.

One would expect the SIT to gather all the evidence and make a case on Narendra Modi. The atmosphere in Gujarat is such that police officers and civil servants find it difficult to come out with the truth and take a stand. We have seen how other upright officers have been victimised.

There are some who claim that Bhatt's affidavit implicating the Chief Minister is motivated to discredit the development work done by the Modi government.

We are talking about 2002, which saw the worst pogroms against the minority community. You cannot justify or cover up this crime by touting development as an excuse.

The affidavit directly pinpoints the Chief Minister. Do you think this is reason enough for him to step down? Some political parties have demanded his resignation.

I think that the evidence and the material available merit the filing of a case against Narendra Modi. If that happens, it will be untenable for him to continue as Chief Minister.

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