Amit Shah slams Cong' 'satyagraha', says Modi appeared before SIT without 'drama, dharna'
New Delhi, June 25: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday took a jibe at Congress' 'satyagraha' over ED questioning Rahul Gandhi in the National herald case and said that Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister appeared before the SIT in relation to the probe over post-Godhra violence but the BJP did not resort to "drama or dharna" during the questioning.
Shah's remarks come after the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the plea challenging the clean chit given by Special Investigation Team (SIT) to then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 riots. The plea was filed by Zakia Jafri.
The union minister also referred to his facing arrest in Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, in which he was subsequently acquitted, and said no "dharna" was carried out.
"In a democracy, PM Modi presented an ideal example of how the Constitution should be respected by all political persons. Modiji was also questioned, but nobody protested, and (BJP) workers from across the country did not gather in solidarity with Modiji. We cooperated with the law. I was also arrested. There was no protest or demonstration," he added.
Amit Shah went on to say that "This is not the first clean chit to PM Modi. Nanavati Commission has also given a clean chit. Still, the SIT was formed. And Modi ji did not appear before the SIT doing drama... come in support from every village if not then call MLAs, MPs and ex-MPs, hold dharna."
Also Read | Jalalabad IED blast case: NIA conducts searches at multiple locations in Punjab
"We believe that we should cooperate in the judicial process. There was a Supreme Court order, and an SIT was there. If the SIT wants to ask questions from the Chief Minister, he himself said that he is ready to cooperate. Why stage a protest? No person is beyond the law," he said, adding that protest cannot be justified against the judicial process.
On Friday, a Supreme Court panel led by Justice AM Khanwilkar ruled that Zakia Jafri's appeal lacked merit.
"After cogitating over the matter, we uphold the decision of the Magistrate in accepting the stated final report dated February 8, 2012, submitted by the SIT, as it is and rejecting the protest petition filed by the appellant. We do not countenance the submission of the appellant regarding infraction of rule of law in the matter of investigation and the approach of the Magistrate and the High Court in dealing with the final report. Accordingly, we hold that this appeal is devoid of merits and resultantly, deserves to be dismissed in the aforementioned terms. We order accordingly," the bench ruled.
On February 28, 2002, when there was unrest at the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad, 69 people were killed, including Ehsan Jafri. 64 people, including Narendra Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time of the riots, were named in Zakia Jafri's challenge to the SIT's clean chit.
Also Read | Child rights body issues guidelines for entertainment industry
-PTC News
