Ponguleti For Probe Into Report Leak

AICC secretary and In-Charge of Gujarat Ponguleti Sudhakar on Saturday sought an inquiry into the leakage of the report given by a Special Investigating Team in which Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had been given a clean chit.

He also described the demand by Bharatiya Janata Party state unit president G Kishen Reddy seeking an apology from Congress president Sonia Gandhi as preposterous.

According to some media reports, the SIT, probing the Gulberg Society Housing Complex attack case in which former Congress MP Ahsan Jafri and over 60 other people were killed has said in its report that it has found no evidence of Modi's involvement.

Sudhakar pointed out that the SIT report was handed over to the Apex Court in a sealed envelope on November 27th, and wondered how the contents given to the highest court in the country could be leaked.

He also questioned why the BJP was trying to use the proceedings in a court for its party leaders' political advantage.

Sudhakar also wondered if the investigating agency had purposely leaked the information to the benefit of Narendra Modi on the eve of his arrival to a Congress ruled state.

Reminding that the Supreme Court had on April 27th, 2009, asked the Special Investigation Team headed by former CBI Director R K Raghavan, to investigate a complaint by Zakia Jafri, Ahsan Jafri's widow, he pointed out that the probe team had questioned Modi for hours.

Scoffing at the BJP's attempt to project Modi as a 'lily in the valley', Sudhakar said that the Gujarat Chief Minister was not invincible.

He said that Modi had rigged the last elections by manipulating the voters list. Sudhakar said that around 30 lakh voters had the right to vote in 3 different places. The AICC secretary said that he had brought this disparity to the notice of the EC who expressed his inability to do anything.

Sudhakar charged that Modi was involved in the post-Godhra riots, and was also an accused in the Sorabuddin encounter case.

The senior leader derided BJP state president Kishen Reddy for demanding an apology from Sonia Gandhi claiming that Modi was Mr. Clean.

He also pointed out that the doubts had been expressed over the conduct of free and fair trial in Gujarat in the Shorabuddin fake encounter case.

Sudhakar charged Narendra Modi of lacking any respect for democracy, human rights and rule of law. He added that several countries in the world were refusing a visa to Modi because of his anti-people stand.

He also pointed out that Zakia Jafri's complaint had given details of how communal riots were allowed to go on in the state with the Chief Minister, cabinet ministers, police and bureaucracy abdicating their constitutional duty to protect life and property of citizens irrespective of their castes and religions.

The AICC secretary revealed that Zakia Jafri's charge against Modi stated - "The constitutionally elected head of the state who is responsible for fundamental rights, right to life and property of all citizens regardless of caste, community and gender, is the architect of a criminal conspiracy to subvert constitutional governance and the rule of law; unleash unlawful and illegal practices during the mass carnage, and thereafter protecting the accused who played direct as well as indirect role in conductiong the crime."

After investigating the complaint and related files, the SIT had to seek a direction from the Apex Court for a reluctant Gujarat government to hand over of all alleged 'hate-speeches' in and around the time of the riots.

The SC had criticised the state government and asked it to hand over the documents sought by the SIT. The investigation also saw Modi being quizzed by sleuths over his role during the riots, which left more than 2,000 people dead.

Courtesy: INN