By IANS,
New Delhi : Saying that the “malicious intentions” of the central government have been exposed, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday welcomed an Ahmedabad court’s verdict in the 2002 Godhra train burning in which 59 people died.
“The verdict has exposed the malicious intentions of the central government and the pseudo secularists who tried to blame the Hindus who were victims as the culprits and accused them of self-immolation,” BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Tarun VIjay told reporters here.
“We welcome this decision. We would want that all the culprits should be given quick and stringent punishment,” he added.
Another BJP spokesperson, Ravi Shankar Prasad, said the judgment had “exposed the nefarious designs” of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government which “tried to cover up” the entire episode.
“Certainly, there has been a degree of assurance that law and justice has prevailed. There were elements who were trying to belittle it. There have been politicians who tried to abuse it,” Prasad said.
He also hit out at the Justice U.C. Banerjee Committee report, which found that the fire was lit from inside the coach. “..It was a sham report,” he added.
The Banerjee Committee was appointed by then railway minister Lalu Prasad to probe the causes of fire in the Sabarmati Express. It found that the fire was “accidental”.