In perhaps the first attempt by any chief minister to involve the President of India in the bitter controversy, Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday wrote a letter to President A P J Abdul Kalam seeking his directions for compilation of state-wise data on communal violence in the country and acquital of accused in these cases by the courts.
Modi's letter comes in the wake of the recent Best Bakery acquittal of all the 21 accused in one of the worst communal carnages recorded in Gujarat last year. He urged the President to get compiled data on the number of terrorist attacks and communal violence, the chargesheets filed in these cases, the withdrawal of cases even after filing charge-sheets and the acquital rate of such cases after trial by the courts.
Claimikng that he was writing the letter to the president "because the nation has total faith in you", Modi said, "if the above data is compiled state-wise and year-wise and placed in the public domain, people themselves will be able to judge who is right. Facts on record will unveil the truth, thereby exposing the vested interests that have targetted not only Gujarat but have tried to weaken the democratic fabric and reputed institutions of the country."
In a direct reference to the NHRC's move in the Supreme Court for the reopening of the Best Bakery case and the transfer of four other carnage cases to courts outside Gujarat , Modi told the President: "It is more disturbing that soime national level institutions are also carried away by propaganda. This needs serious attention because Gujarat bbeing a border state has a strategic importance for the nation's security".
The chief minister said Gujarat was no exception to group clashes which take place all over the country. However, he said when group clashes take place in Gujarat, there is very sharp focus on these incidents even though group clashes have attained "alarming proportions" in other states.
He alleged that "some external forces and non governmental organisations have been trying to raise issues with the pretext of expressing their concern about some stray incidents in Gujarat at international forums thereby tarnishing the image of the country and questioning its democratic strength".
The chief minister, while addressing the president, said: "You will agree with me that the citizens of the country should stand up and uphold the truth".
Modi regretted that even the judiciary was under sttack in the state from "self appointed and so called champions of human rights" and said that this was being done with the help of "a section of the media".
He said: "Such activities raise serious doubts about the intentions of such groups which cannot even accept a constitutionally elected democratic government".
Modi told the President that a judicial commission headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court has been appointed to inquire into all aspects of the communal riots, but added that "efforts are being made to cast aspersions on the commission and its work through propaganda".
Seeking the President's "knowledge, wisdom and perspective" to guide him, the chief minister elaborated on Gujarat's contribution to the national economy by giving figures of the Planning Commission and also citing some initiatives taken by the state government in sectors of water and girls' eduction.
He however added that "vested interests"
were trying to obstruct the path of progress of Gujarat. "They are identifying
stray incidents and exaggerating them with the sole objective of slowing
down the pace of development".