Tehelkaâ??s Sting gives Modi an acute pain

Binita Tiwari

New Delhi

Fri, 26 Oct 2007: 

Oct 26: The Tehelka magzine’s latest outbreak by the sting operation on Godhra carnage culprits has once again shell shocked the whole country with Gujrat’s Chief Minister Narendra Modi landing up in a big trouble. The sting operation fused around the culprits, who worked behind the curtains to give the planned massacre a destination.

Tehelka, which has added a new concept of activism to media and in its recent discovery, has claimed that it has unquestionable evidence related to the massacre of Muslims, physical assault on their women and destruction of their property during Godhra carnage.

It was not a surge of anger but a planned genocide, which was executed by senior functionaries and activist of the Sangh Parivar, including BJP, VHP, Bajrang Dal and RSS with the help of state authorities and police under the kind cover of Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Tehelka conducted an inclusive sting operation and the programme was exclusively aired on Aaj Tak and Headlines Today on Thursday night.

The ghoul of Godhra is back to lime light, this time to expose the horrendous crimes, which has given a scar to our nation.

The sting operation, which lasted for six month has tried to capture a bird eye view over Godhra carnage and those who incited the massacre.

The programme has directly pointed towards Chief Minister Narendra Modi, and his well-wishers at that time. In a shocking revelation the sting captured several of prominent leaders of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, RSS and BJP making statement that laid the blame on Chief Minister directly.

The sting showed Babu Bajrangi, a Bajrang Dal activist now with Shiv Sena telling the reporter that Modi gave them three days time to finish off their carnage before the law stepped in, he is a main accused in the Naroda Patiya area killings that saw hundred of Muslims butchered to death.

Haresh Bhatt was ostensibly caught on the camera saying that he too was present in the meeting when Modi was giving three days time to do whatever violence they wanted to do. He told that Modi thanked them after three days of rampage and Naroda patiya killings.

Bhatt claimed that they even made crude rocket launchers used in the anti-Muslim pogrom and violence.

Tehelka claimed that Dhawal Jayanti Patel revealed that VHP made lots of bombs in the factory owned by him.

Praveen Togadiya, a prominent VHP leader was also projected to have incited the mob at the time of massacre.

The BJP reacted sharply, charging that Tehelka was acting as “CIA (Congress Investigating Agency) while Congress has welcomed the sting operation by Tehelka.

The dark history of Godhra Massacre

The gruesome act which was a blot on our nations history dates back to an unfateful day of February 2002, the ill- fated coach of Sabarmati Express, which was flamed, 58 people were burnt alive including 25 women and 15 children at Godhra station.

Vociferous Modi and other VHP leader alleged that the act was a planned act to kill the ‘Kar sevaks’, who were travelling on the Sabarmati express.

The post Godhra violence rage occurred largely between February and June. The violence was instigated after unsubstantiated rumours endorsed by VHP leader that three Hindu girls were kidnapped during Godhra train attack. Several of towns were boiling with the heat of riots, killing innocents, assaulting women and children and demolishing many religious monuments of Muslims.

Many Human Rights watchdogs raised various questions on Modi’s administration and his in capabilities to handle the issue at a proper time.

With the state election knocking at the door, this has created much trouble to Modi who was founding himself clogged in self-generated controversies.

It seems the time of despair has come for Modi when his own party members are revolting against him.

He could not have imagined that his past deeds will erupt at such a time when he wants to evade those queries the most.

Recently in an interview to Karan Thapar, Modi left him astonished when Karan asked him to say sorry for whatever happened in Gujarat during those riots.

The question raised by Karan made him so uncomfortable that he walked out abruptly from the interview.

He is passing through the same Newton’s law, which he has quoted for the riots, which created controversy that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Also the revelation suggests that the Godhra carnage was not the result of a riot as it was not a sudden outburst but a war that was planned in advance.