Gujarat riots ghost comes back to haunt Modi

“We have summoned the Chief Minister and we will be asking a few questions based on the evidence collected till now. Nothing more than this,” SIT chief Raghavan said. He said the summons to Modi were only in connection with the Jafri murder case.

The SIT is to submit its report to the Supreme Court by April 30.

On the summons to Modi,Zakia said: “I hope justice will be given to us. It has been a long journey. I am very happy that Modi has been summoned.”

In New Delhi,the Congress said it would be appropriate if Modi quits. “The summoning should have happened long ago as the CM of Gujarat and his government presided over the worst pogrom against minorities in independent India,” said party spokesman Manish Tewari.

On the other hand,BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said: “The summons to Modi by SIT are a part of the legal process which shall be dealt with as per the process of law.”

In her petition to the Supreme Court,Zakia had named Modi and 62 others,including seven who were ministers in 2002,and several officials. She alleged that Modi conspired with and instructed the then DGP and other senior officials to “let Hindus vent their anger” after the Godhra incident.

In April 2009,the Supreme Court,on her complaint,directed the SIT to probe the alleged role in the riots of the 63 people she had named.

Last July,the Gujarat High Court dismissed a petition challenging the SIT probe. Former BJP MLA Kalu Malivad,one of the 63 named in the complaint,filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court,demanding a stay on investigations into the complaint by Zakia. The High Court said since the SIT was directly working under the supervision of the Supreme Court,no relief could be granted in the matter.

In September,the Nanavati-Mehta Commission,probing the Sabarmati Express attack and the riots,turned down an application demanding that Modi be summoned. The applicant,Jan Sangharsh Manch chief Mukul Sinha,challenged the decision in the Gujarat High Court. A hearing is scheduled for March 15.

Sinha today welcomed the SIT move to summon Modi,“It is the first good step that the SIT has taken. But the main question is what exactly are they going to ask Modi,” he said.