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India: Text of statement by Eduardo Faleiro re. nomination of Narendra Modi as the Chairman of the National Election Campaign Committee of the BJP

12 June 2013

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STATEMENT

It was most unfortunate that the BJP National Executive should nominate Shri Narendra Modi as the Chairman of their National Election Campaign Committee, an indication that he could be their candidate for the Prime Ministership of the country.

Shri Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat and he presided over the worst communal riots that this country has ever witnessed. He did nothing to prevent the massacre of Muslims in that State and he has been repeatedly faulted by the Supreme Court of India for failing to prosecute the guilty.

The then Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee described as “barbaric and inhuman†the Godhra and post Godhra events and wanted Shri Modi removed from the Chief Ministership but some of his senior colleagues prevailed upon him not to do so. At the meeting of the BJP Executive Committee held in Panaji in April 2002, Shri Vajpayee called upon Modi to adhere to his “raj dharma†(duty of the ruler) and not to discriminate among people on the basis of religion, creed or caste.

I visited Gujarat in the aftermath of the Godhra and post Godhra riots in early March 2002 as a member of the Congress Party delegation. We were told by the State Administration that we could go to Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar but not beyond for security reasons. We went to different areas of those two cities which were described as peaceful but the peace of the grave prevailed there. A large number of people met us including Shri Rajdeep Sardesai, then a correspondent of Star TV. He told us that he was attacked by a mob carrying Trishuls, they broke the glasses of his vehicle and asked him and his colleagues to identify themselves and their religion. There were noble exceptions in those days where Hindus protected Muslims. Many Hindus were also attacked by the mobs and the Muslims protected them.

On return from Gujarat, I wrote to the then Home Minister, Shri L. K. Advani detailing the facts that I had witnessed in that State and said “some of our neighbouring countries where religious fundamentalism flourished for more than a decade often with State patronage are now striving to abandon this noxious path. It would be ironical and most unfortunate if quite the opposite happens in India. I urge you to deal resolutely with all forms of religious extremism in an even handed rather than in a selective manner so that peace, harmony and the rule of law prevail throughout the length and breath of the Nation†. (a copy of my letter dated March 15, 2002 is enclosed).

The Chairman of the Press Council of India and former judge of the Supreme Court, Markandey Katju, has termed Modi unfit for the P.M. post and has said that India will not survive if Modi becomes the next Prime Minister of the country. “India will not be able to survive because it has so much diversity, religions, castes, languages, ethnic groups, etc… India does not belong to Hindus alone; it belongs equally to Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Jains, etc. Also it is not that only Hindus can live in India as first rate citizens while others have to live as second or third rate citizens. All are first rate citizens here. The killings of thousands of Muslims and other atrocities committed against them in Gujarat in 2002 can never be forgotten of forgiven†, wrote Justice Katju.

Secular democracy is the only possible constitutional framework for this country. The concept of secularism is linked inextricably with Indian democracy and one cannot exist without the other.

(Eduardo Faleiro)
11/6/2013

Faleiro’s letter to Advani on the situation in Gujarat

Following is the text of the letter Mr Eduardo Faleiro, former Minister of State for External Affairs, sent to the Home Minister Mr LK Advani on March 15, 2002.

Dear Home Minister,
I visited Gujarat recently as a member of the Congress delegation. I have since been receiving messages from different parts of that State that inspite of assurances and protestations from the Union and State Governments, Gujarat continues to burn. Yesterday, Nitin Parmar, a nephew of our colleague in the Lok Sabha Pravin Rashtrapal was stabbed to death in the Shahpur locality while his father was admitted to V.S. Hospital, Ahmedabad for treatment of sword injuries. Eight others were also hospitalized, 4 with stab injuries, one injured in private firing and 3 women with burn injuries. I have also received information that some extremist organizations have misguided the Adivasis of Vadodra and some other areas and provided them with cash, liquor and weapons and send them in thousands to attack defenceless people. "In Panvad taluka the Adivasis informed the Police in advance that they would attack yet the Police did not demand deployment of the SRP or the Army and the shops of the Muslims were looted in front of the Police. The vehicles parked in front of the police station were also burnt without any fear. Every day some village or the other is being looted and burnt while the local administration sends messages that the situation is calm and under control. Most of the Muslims of the surrounding villages have taken shelter in Chotaudaypur. You are kindly requested to send an effective contingent of the Army so that the remaining Muslims can live peacefully". These are extracts from a fax message received by me on March 13 from the residents of some areas in Vadodra district and I am enclosing the same for your perusal. Defenceless people of different communities are being attacked and are dying in Gujarat. To avoid further loss of innocent life, Army protection should be provided in all sensitive areas. The Army across Gujarat has in fact been pulled back to the barracks, though the Police are unable to control the situation.

2. I am given to understand that there are about 50,000 displaced persons in several relief camps in Ahmedabad. Another estimated 25 to 30 thousand persons have been displaced in other towns and regions of the State. The foodstuffs being provided by the State Government to these camps are unfit for human consumption. The State Government having allowed life and property to be systematically destroyed, has now abdicated its constitutional duty to provide relief to the victims. In such circumstances, Government of India should step in and provide immediate relief to these camps in the form of milk, food grains of adequate quality, medicines and medical assistance.

3. The K.G. Shah Commission should be scrapped. Its verdict will lack credibility. The Government should request the Chief Justice of India to appoint a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court or of any High Court outside Gujarat to hold the inquiry into the incident at Godhra and subsequent events.

4. The role of the Police in Gujarat has been scandalous. Eyewitnesses say that our former colleague in Parliament Ehsan Jaffri contacted the Police several times on March 1, the day of his death, and that he expected that the Police Commissioner C.P. Pandey would protect his life and his family but that was not to be. The Gujarat Police cannot be trusted with a fair and impartial investigation, hence I urge that the task of criminal investigation relating to the recent violence in Gujarat should be handed over to the CBI.

5. A report in the Hindi newspaper Jan Morcha published from Ayodhya by Sheetla Prasad and dated 24.2.2002 i.e. 3 days before the massacre at Godhra is captioned "Bajrang Dal Activists on Sabarmati Express beat up Muslims, forcing them to shout Jai Shri Ram Slogans" (English translation). Similar reports were also published in the international press including the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and New York Times. Yet the intelligence agencies of the Union and state governments remained inactive and as a result the gruesome incidents took place. May I request you to look into this matter and take necessary steps to fix responsibilities.

6. A pamphlet in Gujarati is being widely circulated across the State calling for total economic boycott of Muslims including Muslim shops, films in which Muslims act, any form of employment for Muslims etc. Inciting such communal hatred is an offence under the Indian Penal Code. Government should take immediate action to apprehend the culprits. I am enclosing a copy of the pamphlet.

7. In a tape recorded interview to Rediff.com Prof. Keshav Ram KashiramShastri, the chairman of the Gujarat unit of the Vishva Hindu Parishad stated that the shops in Ahmedabd were looted on the basis of a list prepared by the VHP in advance. "In the morning we sat down and prepared the list," he revealed. He added that the situation could get aggravated and bigger riots were possible. "There will be war. So much poison has spread that it is difficult to contain it now", he said.

What steps has the Government taken or proposes to take in the context of the disclosures made by Prof. K.K. Shastri?

Some of our neighbouring countries, where religious fundamentalism flourished for more than a decade often with State patronage, are now striving to abandon this noxious path. It would be ironical and most unfortunate if quite the opposite happens in India. I urge you to deal resolutely with all forms of religious extremism in an evenhanded rather than in a selective manner so that peace, harmony and the Rule of Law prevail throughout the length and breadth of the Nation.

With personal regards,

Eduardo Faleiro