Naroda Gam Riots Accused Acquittal `Murder Of Judiciary, Constitution`: Sharad Pawar

Sharad Pawar said that the riots had taken place, there were deaths (11) and the accused ranged from ruling party leaders, MLAs and ministers, many of whom were arrested and enlarged on bail.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar on Friday termed the recent acquittal of 69 accused in the brutal Naroda Gam (Gujarat) riots of 2002 as a "murder" of the judiciary and the Constitution". Addressing a party meeting, Pawar said that the riots had taken place, there were deaths (11) and the accused ranged from ruling party leaders, MLAs and ministers, many of whom were arrested and enlarged on bail. "Now, the court verdict has come, acquitting all the 69 accused in that incident. Along with the killings of the victims in those communal riots, even the judiciary and the Constitution have been murdered," Pawar said. Slamming the misuse of the central investigation agencies, he said that even in small villages for local disputes, people are now being threatened with ED. "The ED or CBI have become household names," he said.

Continuing in the same context, he referred to a senior NCP leader, Anil Deshmukh who was arrested by the ED in late 2021 on charges of Rs 100-crore bribe, he spent 13 months in jail and the chargesheet mentioned barely donations of Rs 1.25-crore. Similarly, in the case of another NCP leader, Nawab Malik - stuck in jail for over 14 months, the news keeps coming that his bail plea is on another date, Pawar pointed out. Adopting the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) stance, Pawar demanded a probe into the Navi Mumbai tragedy of April 16 that left 14 dead after the `Maharashtra Bhushan Award` 2022 was conferred on reformer Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. "It was a state government function and there was negligence in organising the event. An official will not give a report against his own administration, only a probe by a retired judge can bring out the truth," said Pawar.

Referring to former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik`s comments, the NCP supremo alleged that so far no inquiry has been ordered into the terror strike of February 2019 that killed 40 CRPF personnel in Pulwama. Flanked by top NCP leaders, Pawar appealed to his party workers to start preparations for the upcoming civic, Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, and strengthen `booth-level`, and improve contact with the masses.