By IANS
Ahmedabad : Hindu activists alleging in an undercover operation that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi sanctioned the 2002 riots would in no way affect the prospects of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the assembly elections, says state party chief Purushottam Rupala.
Elections in the state will be held on Dec 11 and 16.
“No effect. We are confident that we will win,” Rupala said Friday, a day after the Tehelka magazine-Headlines Today exposé that has several Hindu leaders not only talking of Modi’s involvement in the riots but also giving a graphic account of the violence and how they killed and looted.
“These issues were the same as those raised during the 2002 elections. The outcome of that poll showed that they did not cut any ice with the electorate. If they did not have any impact then it can hardly have any effect five years later,” Rupala told IANS.
He said the sting had no “evidentiary value” under Indian laws. The various matters raised were already before different courts. The allegations now will certainly have no impact.
While the BJP played it cool, the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) said they had no comment.
State Congress president Bharat Sinh Solanki could not be reached immediately as he was busy campaigning. And party spokesperson Shakti Sinh Gohil said the AICC in Delhi had already commented on the matter.
“We at the state level are not commenting on the issue,” he said.
Nalin Bhatt who quit the BJP and now heads the BSP in the state also said “no comment”, but added that an “inquiry must be held in the matter”.
“It’s an old story, but it is still shocking to hear it from the individuals (who were involved in the violence),” said B.K. Hariprasad, Congress general secretary and in charge of the party affairs in the state, in Delhi Thursday.