In BJP,celebration time: Modi has passed test by fire,says Sushma

“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court has certainly brought great relief to the BJP and to everyone who regards Modi as one of the model chief ministers of the country,” party patriarch L K Advani said.

No other leader in the political history of India has had to face such a sustained vilification campaign,Advani said. Despite that,the good governance and honest administration provided by Modi has been rarely seen in any state,he added.

“Narendrabhai has passed agnipareeksha today. My heartiest congratulations to him. Satyamev Jayate.

Varsho baad aaj satya ki vijay hui hai,” tweeted Sushma Swaraj. Former BJP president Rajnath Singh,who spoke to the chief minister after the ruling,said it had been proved beyond doubt that “much of the case against Modi is based on false propaganda and is fraught with malicious intent.”

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said the BJP has always maintained that the allegations against Modi were “absolutely false” and that there was “not a shred of evidence” about his involvement in the post-Godhra riots. Even the SIT has not found any evidence,he argued.

“The Supreme Court has given effect to the due process of law… which is that a supplementary chargesheet will be filed and the case tried in a trial court… We stand vindicated in our position that there is no evidence to connect Modi with the riots,” he said.

Attacking rights activists who have been pursuing the case,Jaitley said “propaganda and falsehood is never a substitute for hard evidence”.

While the BJP cheered Modi,the CPM said the court’s decision “can by no means be considered exoneration of the chief minister’s role”. On the contrary,the party said,the Supreme Court direction means that the complaint filed by Zakia Jafri and co-petitioner Citizens for Peace and Justice before the Supreme Court including the specific role of Modi will be included as part of an expanded chargesheet in the case.

The court,the CPM pointed out,has directed the trial court to “look at the various reports including the SIT report,the report of the amicus curiae as well as affidavits containing damning evidence against the chief minister role,all of which were before the Supreme Court”.

BJP leaders,however,parried questions on whether the ruling raises Modi’s stature and brightens the prospects of his arrival on the national scene. “He is an outstanding leader of the BJP and he is capable of discharging every responsibility which the party assigns to him,” Advani said.