13. L.K. Advani’s Reply in Rajya Sabha
Times of India, 11 March 2002

NEW DELHI: A united Opposition led by the Congress on Monday in both Houses of Parliament berated the BJP led governments at the Centre and in Gujarat for their failure to act decisively and in time to control communal conflagration in the state last week, and demanded the resignations of home minister Advani and chief minister Narendra Modi.

Discussion on the subject both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were heated as angry Opposition members refused to accept any defence of the BJP governments and staged a noisy walkout in the Upper House after Advani rejected their demand for Modi’s dismissal.

During his reply to the resumed short-duration debate in the Rajya Sabha, Advani agreed what had happened in Gujarat was “a blot” on the communal harmony record of his party and had indeed lowered India’s image in the world. But he refused to accede to the Opposition demand either for his and Modi’s resignation or for an inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge into the Gujarat riots. As he said the demand for a Supreme Court inquiry could not be accepted as a judicial inquiry has already been ordered, angry Opposition members marched out, accusing him of “making an irresponsible statement”.

Advani criticised the Opposition for being “selective in their approach to the Gujarat violence” and defended the state government by asserting that “in less than 72 hours the situation was brought under control”. Not a single shot was fired by the police when thousands of Sikhs were killed in one day in 1984, but in Gujarat nearly 100 people had died in police firing on the first day of riots.

He said his government was with the Opposition in condemning the violence in as vehement a manner as possible, but Opposition charges of “state-sponsored terrorism” and “police-sponsored terrorism were highly untenable and irresponsible”.

When Advani talked about police firing on the first day of rioting killing 98 people, CPI MP Shabana Azmi asked, “What percentage were from minority and majority communities of those killed in police firing.” Advani said: “More percentage of the majority community were killed because it was they who were out there when police resorted to firing.”

Two BJP allies – Biju Janta Dal and Trinamool Congress- joined the Opposition in criticising the Gujarat government over its handling of the situation. BJD member Trilochan Kanungo and Trinamool leader Mamta Banerjee said the local administration should have taken pro-active steps to prevent such trouble.

In the Lok Sabha, Congress chief whip P R Das Munshi said the extent of ravages during the riots was a reflection of the Centre’s inability to intervene as well. Neither Advani nor Modi had any right to continue in office after the White House spokesman made an appeal for restoration of peace in Gujarat, he said.

He said the ministers and BJP leaders were speaking in different voices about the Gujarat situation and wondered why Advani had failed to make a statement in the House even after the Ahmedabad flare-up “Mr. Prime Minister, you are being hit from within,” Das Munshi remarked. He said the Godhra train attack should have come as a warning to the state administration and alerted it about possible repercussions.