NARENDRA MODI's anger was palpable after the Godhra incident; he vowed revenge. Haresh Bhatt, the then national co-coordinator of the Bajrang Dal, was part of the meeting in which Narendra Modi told them they could do whatever they wanted for the next three days. After that, Bhatt says, "He asked us to stop and everything came to a halt."
RAJENDRA VYAS, the VHP's Ahmedabad city president, was consoled by Modi, who said, "Rajendrabhai, calm yourself, everything will be taken care of."
NOT ONLY DID THE MODI government allow the mob fury to continue unabated, it also tried to shelter the perpetrators from the law. Modi himself arranged for Babu Bajrangi, the prime accused in the Naroda Patiya case, to stay at Gujarat Bhavan in Mount Abu, and transferred two judges to help Bajrangi get bail
SINCE THE POLICE were in control all over Gujarat, Modi instructed them to side with the Hindus, thus giving the rioters a free hand for three days until pressure from higher quarters necessitated the calling in of the army
AFTER THE NARODA PATIYA carnage, the chief minister himself went to the site and acknowledged the efforts of the Chhara tribe, who were key participants in the massacre at Naroda Patiya
ARVIND PANDYA, government counsel, is convinced that Modi's strong leadership made the post-Godhra carnage possible
Accused after accused testified to how the Gujarat genocide would not have been possible had Narendra Modi not sent out clear directives to the administration to look the other way
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| Shalendra Pandey |
EARLIER SECTIONS have detailed how leaders of the VHP and the Bajrang Dal conspired and plotted the massacres. How preparations for largescale killings had begun soon after the news of the Sabarmati Express fire was out. How execution squads were formed comprising committed workers of various saffron outfits. How the police turned a blind eye to the violence and in some cases even participated in it, shoulder to shoulder with the mob. How the prosecution plotted to threaten and buy off survivors, instead of ensuring that the accused were convicted.
The massacre and its cover-up were executed at different levels of the BJP government and its extensions like the VHP and the Bajrang Dal. So, was there a ringmaster running the show or was the Gujarat massacre an uncoordinated affair? Was there an invisible hand pulling the strings from behind the stage?
What was the real extent of the role played by the man who ruled the state in a time of carnage that was supported by the various arms of his own government? Was Modi responsible for police complicity in the genocide? Did he give the go-ahead to such bloodthirsty leaders of the VHP and the Bajrang Dal as Babu Bajrangi, Haresh Bhatt and Anil Patel? TEHELKA tried to ascertain the truth from the assassins themselves. And this is what they had to say about Modi and his role.
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