RSS gives clean chit to Narendra Modi

new delhi: the rss on wednesday gave a clean chit to its former pracharak and gujarat chief minister narendra modi on the handling of the situation in the state saying "no government could have done more than this" even as it claimed the violence was a "reaction" to the godhra train killings. "no government could have done more than this on the first two days. about 100 people were shot dead by police. moreover, it is not that muslims alone were the victims. they had also reacted in ahmedabad and other places," rss spokesman m g vaidya told reporters here. "the modi government did whatever was possible. however, if there were any shortcomings, it will be brought to light by the ongoing judicial inquiry and let the state government face the consequences," he said. asked about the criticism of the modi government by the nhrc chairman justice j s verma, vaidya said, "his (verma's) statement is not the final word." while asserting that the "reaction in gujarat was not justified", he, however, said, "had there been no godhra, there would have been no (violence in) gujarat." he said that had the violence been "pre-planned" as alleged by opposition, "then reaction would have been there in faizabad and delhi. it was confined to gujarat alone as it (godhra) directly affected the people of the state." "in 1969, there was no bjp. but the government could not stop the violence following the slaughter of a cow in puri," vaidya said.

BJP invites Narendra Modi to campaign in Bihar

AHMEDABAD: The BJP on Friday invited Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to campaign in Bihar, a move that is sure to be a red rag to the JD(U) and may revive a bitter clash between the two coalition partners ahead of assembly elections.

"Modiji, please come to Bihar. You may campaign and hold the BJP flag high," BJP general secretary and in-charge of the party in Bihar, Ananth Kumar told a meeting of the party's Gujarat executive here.

He said the BJP national president has sent him as he was in charge of the party in Bihar.

"I feel from the bottom of my heart that it may be Bangalore, Benaras or Ballia- Bharat or Bihar. We invite him to come to campaign. He is our leader," he said to a thunderous applause from the party leaders. Modi and other senior leaders including Arun Jaitley were seated on the dais.

JD(U) leader Shivanand Tiwari reacted sharply to Kumar's statement saying why the BJP was being "adamant" on calling Modi for campaign.

"The BJP wants to rule the whole of India. The days of one party rule is gone. Coalition is the rule of the day. Why is BJP adamant. Why is it creating a scene in Bihar," he said.

Only last month, Nitish Kumar snubbed the BJP by cancelling a dinner for its top leadership in Patna when they were there for a meeting of the National Executive after a couple of advertisements were published in local dailies showing Modi and Nitish Kumar holding their hands together.

Nitish Kumar also returned Rs. 5 crore being the unspent money of the aid given by the Gujarat government in 2008 to Bihar at the time of Kosi floods.

The joint campaign by Nitish Kumar and Deputy chief minister Sushil Modi was also called off in the wake of the spat but later it was decided to be resumed.

Narendra Modi should resign on moral grounds: Congress

AHMEDABAD: With the Special Investigation Team (SIT) summoning Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for questioning in connection with the post-Godhra riots, Congress on Friday demanded that he should quit on moral grounds.

"Modi has no right to be the chief minister once the SIT has summoned him. He should resign on moral grounds," Congress state in-charge P Sudhakar Reddy said here on Friday.

Reddy, who is also AICC secretary, was speaking to media after participating in a 10-km-walk organised by the state Congress from Gandhi Ashram to Kochrab Ashram on 80th anniversary of the Dandi March here.

Reddy said it is shameful for the people of Gujarat that their chief minister has been summoned by the Supreme Court appointed probe panel.

Modi would be questioned for the first time for his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots with the apex court-appointed SIT summoning him for questioning him on March 21.

The 60-year-old senior BJP leader suffered the ignominy of being the first-ever chief minister of any state to be called for questioning in a criminal complaint after he and his administration were accused of aiding and abetting riots in one area here.

The summons by the SIT eight years after the post-Godhra riots, were issued on a complaint by Zakia Jaffery, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jaffery who was killed along with 69 others in the communal violence at Gulburg society.