Modi and Godhra: The Fiction of Fact Finding

by Manoj Mitta

Brooding over his party’s unexpected defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, Vajpayee felt that the failure to sack Modi for the Gujarat violence was one of the principal underlying reasons. ‘The impact of the Gujarat riots was felt nationwide. This was unexpected and hurt us badly; Modi should have been removed after the incident,’ Vajpayee said in an interview to Zee TV on 13 June 2004.

‘Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.’

‘Religious fanatics really do not belong to any religion. They are no better than terrorists who kill innocent people for no rhyme or reason.’