Kolkata: Against the backdrop of a senior
IPS officer implicating Narendra Modi in the 2002 riots, Home
Minister P Chidambaram on Monday said it was a "positive
development" that officials and people in Gujarat were now
showing courage to speak up on the carnage.
He singled out senior IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt for the
courage in coming up with his affidavit that alleged that
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had "allowed Hindus to
vent their anger" in the 2002 clashes.
"The courage is coming, I think that itself is a
positive development," Chidambaram told reporters while
referring to Bhatt`s affidavit in the Supreme Court.
The affidavit reportedly stated that Modi had in a
meeting on February 27, 2002 expressed the view that "rioters
be allowed to vent their anger".
Chidambaram said, "I think that these allegations have
been in the air for some time. Now people are having the
courage to speak up."
The Home Minister said that Bhatt had earlier made the
statement before SIT, but there was not much effect.
Bhatt was the DCP of the state intelligence bureau
during the 2002 riots and claimed in the affidavit filed on
April 14 that Modi had asked his officers to remain
"indifferent" to the rioters.
"I think another officer has also come up with a
statement today," he said with regard to the Gujarat riots
following the Godhra incident.
PTI
