Modinama-8: Action Reaction

This is one in a series of posts critically assessing Madhu Kishwar's articles under the name Modinama. The others in this series (work under progress) are --
1. Modinama-0 Outlook Article
2. Modinama-2: Steps Taken by Modi to Control Riots

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The earliest web story that I know of denying Modi Action Reaction theory was here  Here the case is against the version published in TOI and that no interview was given to TOI. However Modi did give an interview to Zee TV

A case has been made by Modifans that Modi's utterances are twisted and given unintended meanings. An oft quoted example is his interview to Zee TV granted on Ist March 2002. According to Madhu Kishwar (Modinama 8) -

Teesta Setalvad’s NGO and others targeting Narendra Modi for his alleged complicity in the post Godhra riots of 2002 have tried attributing a similar statement to Narendra Modi. The Supreme Court appointed SIT examined the charge in –depth. The charge is that when asked about the post Godhra violence, Modi quoted Newton’s third law of motion which states that ‘every action has an equal and opposite reaction’ - “Har kriya ki pratikriya hoti hai” (Quoted in Communalism Combat, pg. 107, “Genocide Gujarat 2002” (Mar-Apr.2002), Ms Setalvad’s case is that this proves Modi justified the anti Muslim violence that followed the burning down of a rail bogie leading to 58 Hindus being charred to death.

However, the Special Investigative Team appointed by the Supreme Court exonerated Modi of this charge on the ground that that the actual statement was- “Kriya pratikriya ki chain chal rahi hai. Hum chhate hain ki na kriya ho aur na pratikriya” (A chain of action–reaction is going on. We want that there should be neither “action” nor “reaction”)

It all started with an incomplete statement telecast on Zee TV based on an interview conducted by Zee correspondent Sudhir Chaudhary.  As per the testimony of Sudhir Chaudhary, Zee TV Correspondent to the SIT, he had attended a press conference held by Narendra Modi on 01-03-2002, in the Circuit House at the outskirts of Gandhinagar. He requested Narendra Modi for a short interview after the press conference. The latter agreed and was interviewed for about 10 minutes. (SIT report page no.187)

When Chaudhary questioned the CM about the Chamanpura (Gulberg Society) massacre in which the former Congress MP, Ehsan Jafri was killed along with more than 50 others, the Chief Minister in his replies referred to the reports that Jafri had first fired at the violent mob, which infuriated the crowd further and that the mob thereafter stormed the Housing Society and set it on fire. (SIT report page no.187)

According to Chaudhary, Narendra Modi referred to Jafri’s firing as “action” and the massacre that followed as “reaction”. Modi’s exact quote was: “Kriya pratikriya ki chain chal rahi hai. Hum chahte hain ki na kriya ho aur na pratikriya”. A chain of action – reaction is going on. We want that there should be neither “action” nor “reaction”)

However, in the Zee TV telecast, as well as newspapers that picked up Modi’s statement, the last line saying, “Hum chahte hai ki na kriya ho aur na pratikriya.”(We want that there should neither be “action” nor “reaction”) was deliberately omitted.

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Siddharth Varadarajan has a blog entry on this controversy--

The first use of this morally perverse ‘Newtonian’ logic of action and reaction to justify the killing of Muslims after Godhra was made by Modi in an interview to Zee Television on 1 March, even as the violence was at its peak. And ironically, it wasn’t so much a reference to the burning of the Sabarmati Express as to press reports that former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri—who was lynched by a Sangh Parivar-led mob at his residence in Chamanpura, Ahmedabad on 28 February—had fired at the mob in order to try and disperse them. Modi said that Jafri’s ‘action’ of firing had infuriated the mob and that the massacre which followed was a ‘reaction’. Since his remark generated a huge controversy and led the Gujarat information department to deny that he had said any such thing, it is worth reproducing his exact quote: ‘Kriya pratikriya ki chain chal rahi hai. Hum chahate hain ki na kriya ho aur na pratikriya. (What is happening is a chain of action and reaction. What I want is that there should be no action and no reaction).’ Asked about the violence which erupted throughout Gujarat on the day of the VHP-sponsored bandh, he said:

Godhra mein jo parson hua, jahan par chalees mahilaon aur bacchon ko zinda jala diya, is mein desh mein aur videsh mein sadma pahunchna swabhavik tha. Godhra ke is ilake ke logon ki criminal tendencies rahi hain. In logon ne pahele mahila teachers ka khoon kiya. Aur ab yeh jaghanya apraadh kiya hai jiski pratikria ho rahi hai. (It is natural that what happened in Godhra day before yesterday, where forty women and children were burnt alive, has shocked the country and the world. The people in that part of Godhra have had criminal tendencies. Earlier, these people had murdered women teachers. And now they have done this terrible crime for which a reaction is going on).

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Varadarajan's blog and The Editors'  Guild report ( which came out in the beginning of May 2002) from where the quote is taken, have given the full quote. The inclusion or exclusion of the last line makes no difference to the conclusions drawn. 

Extracts from SIT preliminary and Final reports dealing with this statement follows preceded by the charge in Zakia- CJP petition. The variations in the two SIT reports are in blue colour. It is amusing to note that the death toll in Gulberg Society in the preliminary report is more than 20 while in the final report it is more than 50. The official toll now is 69. No wonder activists claim higher death toll than official figures overall in Gujarat.

The preliminary report accuses Modi of callousness while the final report claims his words twisted. There is no controversy over what Modi said. Yet SIT tried to get the original CD etc and has spent quite some effort here.

Ø  ALLEGATION NO. XII :

A press statement was made by Shri Narendra Modi that the reaction against the muslim community was the operation of Newton’s law of reaction.

from SIT Preliminary report dated 12-5-2010 pages  67-69	from SIT Closure report pages 130-133
Enquiries conducted by SIT revealed that the book titled as “Rights and Wrongs” published by Editor’s Guild Fact Finding Mission Report By Aakar Patel, Dileep Padgaonkar and B.G.Verghese contained the extract of the Zee TV interview carried out by Shri Sudhir Chaudhary with Shri Narendra Modi, Chief Minister on 01-03-2002. The Zee TV correspondent questioned Shri Narendra Modi about the Chamanpura massacre in which the former Congress MP, Ehesan Jafri was killed with atleast 20 others. The Chief minister in his replies referred to the reports that Jafri had first fired at the violent mob, which infuriated the crowd further and that the mob thereafter stormed the Housing Society and set it on fire. According to the Zee TV correspondent, Shri Narendra Modi referred to Jafri’s firing as “action” and the massacre that followed thereafter as “reaction” His exact quote was : “Kriya pratikriya ki chain chal rahi hai. Hum chhate hain ki na kriya ho aur na pratikriya” . When asked about the widespread violence in Gujarat post Godhra the CM’s reply was :	Enquiries conducted by SIT revealed that the book titled as “Rights and Wrongs” published by Editor’s Guild Fact Finding Mission Report By Aakar Patel, Dileep Padgaonkar and B.G.Verghese contained the extract of the Zee TV interview carried out by Shri Sudhir Chaudhary with Shri Narendra Modi, Chief Minister on 01-03-2002. The Zee TV correspondent questioned Shri Narendra Modi about the Chamanpura massacre in which the former Congress MP, Ehesan Jafri was killed with more than 50 others. The Chief minister in his replies referred to the reports that Jafri had first fired at the violent mob, which infuriated the crowd further and that the mob thereafter stormed the Housing Society and set it on fire. According to the Zee TV correspondent, Shri Narendra Modi referred to Jafri’s firing as “action” and the massacre that followed thereafter as “reaction”> His exact quote was : “Kriya pratikriya ki chain chal rahi hai. Hum chhate hain ki na kriya ho aur na pratikriya” . When asked about the widespread violence in Gujarat post Godhra the CM’s reply was :
“Godhra main jo parso hua jahan par chalees(40), mahilaon aur bacchon ko zinda jala diya, is main desh main aur videsh main sadma pahuchna swabhavik tha. Godhra ke is ilake ke logon ki criminal tendencies rahi hai. In logon ne pahele mahila teachers ka khoon kiya. Aur ab yeh jaghanya apraadh kiya hai jiski pratikria ho rahi hai.”	“Godhra main jo parso hua jahan par chalees(40), mahilaon aur bacchon ko zinda jala diya, is main desh main aur videsh main sadma pahuchna swabhavik tha. Godhra ke is ilake ke logon ki criminal tendencies rahi hai. In logon ne pahele mahila teachers ka khoon kiya. Aur ab yeh jaghanya apraadh kiya hai jiski pratikria ho rahi hai.”
	During further investigation, a requisition was sent to the Zee TV to make available a copy of the CD of a television interview of Shri Narendra Modi, Chief Minister, Gujarat, conducted by their correspondent, Shri Sudhir Chaudhary on 01-03-2002. Despite two reminders and a notice u/s 91 Cr PC sent to them,  the CD was not made available to the SIT.
	Shri Sudhir Chaudhary, Zee TV Correspondent has stated that he attended a press conference held by Shri Narendra Modi on 01-03-2002 at a Circuit House at the outskirts of Gandhinagar.  Shri Sudhir Chaudhary has stated to have requested Shri Narendra Modi for a short interview after the conference and to which, the latter agreedand as such he was interviewed for about 10 minutes. After going through the Editor’s Guild Fact Finding Mission report dated 03-05-2002, Shri Chaudhary has stated thatthe same were only a few excerpts from the said interview and that the original CD of the said interview was not before him. As per his recollection, he had questioned Shri Narendra Modi about the Chamanpura massacre (Gulberg Society Case), in which former Congress MP Late Ahesan Jafri had been killed with many others to which the Chief Minister had replied that the mob had reacted on account of private firing done by Late Ahesan Jafri, Ex-MP. After refreshing his memory from the Editor’s Guild report, Shri Sudhir Chaudhary has stated that the chief Minister was of the view that he neither wanted action nor reaction. Shri Sudhir Chaudhary has shown his inability to elaborate the same, as he has not been able to recollect the exact sequence of events after a span of 9 years and moreover, the CD was not before him.
When questioned about the aforesaid interview given to Zee TV on 01-03-2002, the CM stated that those who have read the history of Gujarat would definitely be aware that communal violence in Gujarat has a long history and the State had witnessed serious incidents of such communal violence. As regards the Zee TV interview of 01-03-2002 is concerned, he told SIT that after a period of eight years he did not recollect the exact words, but he had always appealed only and only for peace. He has further stated that he had further tried to appeal to the people to shun violence in straight and simple language. He has also stated that if his words cited in this question are considered in the correct perspective, then it would be evident that there is a very earnest appeal for people refraining from any kind of violence, He has denied all the allegations against him in this regard.	Shri Narendra Modi had been questioned about the aforesaid interview given to Zee TV on 01-03-2002. He has stated that those who have read the history of Gujarat would definitely be aware that communal violence in Gujarat has a long history and the State had witnessed serious incidents of such communal violence. As regards the Zee TV interview of 01-03-2002 is concerned, he told SIT that after a period of eight years he did not recollect the exact words, but he had always appealed only and only for peace. He has further stated that he had further tried to appeal to the people to shun violence in straight and simple language. He has also stated that if his words cited in this question are considered in the correct perspective, then it would be evident that there is a very earnest appeal for people refraining from any kind of violence, He has denied all the allegations against him in this regard.
Regarding the statement made to the media about post Godhra riots by citing Newton’s law that every action has equal and opposite reaction, Shri Narendra Modi has stated that the Times of India had published a news item purportedly as though he had given an interview to them. According to Shri Modi, the truth is that nobody met him. He has further stated that the falsehoods of his so-called justification “Action-Reaction Theory” is evident from this fact. According to Shri Modi, the State Govt issued a denial with regard to his not having given any interview and the same was belatedly published in a remote corner of the newspaper. He has also stated that it has been his considered opinion that violence can not be replied to by violence and he had appealed for peace. As per Shri Modi’s version before SIT, he had not and would never justify any action or reaction by a mob against innocents. He has denied all allegations in this regard.	Regarding the statement made to the media about post Godhra riots by citing Newton’s law that every action has equal and opposite reaction, Shri Narendra Modi has stated that the Times of India had published a news item on 03-03-2002 purportedly as though he had given an interview to them. According to Shri Modi, the truth is that nobody met him. He has further stated that the falsehoods of his so-called justification “Action-Reaction Theory” is evident from this fact. According to Shri Modi, the State Govt issued a denial with regard to his not having given any interview and the same was belatedly published in a remote corner of the newspaper. He has also stated that it has been his considered opinion that violence can not be replied to by violence and he had appealed for peace. As per Shri Modi’s version before SIT, he had not and would never justify any action or reaction by a mob against innocents. He has denied all allegations in this regard.
In this connection, it is to be stated that Shri Narendra Modi has clearly stated in his Zee TV interview that it was Late Ahesan Jafri, Ex-MP, who first fired at violent mob and the provoked mob stormed the society and set it on fire. In this interview, he has clearly referred to Jafri’s firing as “action” and the massacre that followed as “reaction”.  It may be clarified here that in case Late Ahesan Jafri, Ex-MP fired at the mob, this could be an immediate provocation to the mob, which had assembled there to take revenge of Godhra incident from the muslims. Again, with respect to the Godhra incident, he clearly stated that the day before yesterday 40 ladies and children were burnt alive at Godhra and the incident had shocked the nation as well as prople abroad, and that the people belonging to this area had a criminal tendency and these people had earlier killed lady teachers and now they had committed heinous crime, for which the reactions were being felt.	In this connection, it is to be stated that Shri Narendra Modi has clearly stated in his Zee TV interview that it was Late Ahesan Jafri, Ex-MP, who first fired at violent mob and the provoked mob stormed the society and set it on fire. In this interview, he has clearly referred to Jafri’s firing as “action” and the massacre that followed as “reaction”.  It may be clarified here that in case Late Ahesan Jafri, Ex-MP fired at the mob, this could be an immediate provocation to the mob, which had assembled there to take revenge of Godhra incident from the muslims. Again, with respect to the Godhra incident, he clearly stated that the day before yesterday 40 ladies and children were burnt alive at Godhra and the incident had shocked the nation as well as prople abroad, and that the people belonging to this area had a criminal tendency and these people had earlier killed lady teachers and now they had committed heinous crime, for which the reactions were being felt.
It may thus been seen that in spite of the fact that ghastly violent attacks had taken place on Muslims at Gulberg Society and elsewhere, the reaction of the Govt was not the type which would have been expected by anyone. The above discussion also show that the Chief Minister had tried to water down the seriousness of the situation at Gulberg Society, Naroda Patiya and other places by saying that every “action” has an equal and opposite “reaction”. However this utterance by itself is not sufficient to make out a case against Shri Narendra Modi.	No doubt, during riots ghastly violent attacks had taken place on Muslims at Gulberg Society, Naroda Patiya and elsewhere by unruly mob, yet the alleged statements made by Chief Minister Narendra Modi appear to have been quoted out of context and therefore, based on these statements, no case is made against him.

Now. here is the much cited 28-02-2002 address through Doordarshan

Here Modi is appealing for peace, condemning the violence at Godhra and promising to bring justice to the victims by punishing the pertetrators in such a way that they will never dare to repeat their crime. There is an appeal to let law to take its own course. I hate to be politically correct nitpicker. But there is no condemnation of retaliatory violence, nor any assurance that the perpetrators will be punished. (Is there a single speech/statement by Modi during this period, where he threatens punishment to anti- muslim rioters?) Yet this appeal for peace and restraint convinces SIT that illegal orders( ie asking police to go slow on hindu rioters) could not have been given in the night of 27th Feb 2002. SIT Final Report page 241-242

...when Chief Minister visited Godhra on 27-02-2002 evening, he addressed the media at the collectorate and asserted that the culprits would not be spared and the victims would be paid Rs. 2 lakh each. The CM also appealed to the public through media to maintain peace. Furthermore, on 28-02-2002, that is within less than 12 hours of the alleged meeting that took place on the night of 27-02-2002, the CM has stated on the floor of the assembly, where the opposition was also present, that the State Govt. has taken this heinous, inhuman and organised violent act very seriously and is committed to give exemplary punishment to the culprits so that such incident never recur anywhere. The Chief Minister repeated almost the similar facts at his press conference held on 28-02-2002 afternoon at Circuit House Annexe, Ahmedabad.It would not be out of place to mention here that in his appeal made to the public through Doordarshan on 28-02-2002, Chief Minister reiterated that Gujarat will never tolerate any such incident and that guilty will be punished gor their heinous crime. He also said that the culprits would be awarded such exemplary punishment so that no one would dare to involve himself in such an incident. This would go to show that atleast on five occasions, which are fully documented, during 27-02-2002 & 28-02-2002 Chief Minister addressed Media, Assembly and General publicand everywhere the genesis and intention was one and the same, ie to punish the culprits responsible for the Godhra incident in an exemplary manner, so that such incidents did not recur ever again. In the light of aforesaid discussion, the interpretations made on alleged illegal instructions given by the Chief Minister by Shri R. B. Sreekumar and Shri Sanjiv Bhatt, appear to be without any basis. Further, even if such allegations were believed for the sake of argument, mere statement of alleged words in the four walls of a room does not constitute any offence.

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So Narendra Modi was appealing for peace on Doordarshan on 28th Feb 2002 after hundreds had been slaughtered in Ahmedabad itself in retaliation to Godhra attack. Note that there is no condemnation of these attacks nor assurance that these attackers will be punished. Yet SIT cites this Doordarshan address as an evidence that illegal instructions could not have been given on 27th Feb night.

Given below is a speech of Modi in course of Gaurav Yatra and how SIT final report yet again sanitises it while in the initial report it found the speech communal --

Here is a translaion of Modi's speech at Becharaji http://www.cjponline.org/hatespmodi/CM%20SPEECH-BECHARJI[TEXT%7D.pdf

Gaurav Yatra has now reached the holy land of  Bahucharaji, from Fagwel, by blowing the bugle of self-respect of Gujarat. This is the  holy place of Shakti,  the power for extermination of Ashuras. We have resolved  to destroy and stamp out all forces of evil, who are a threat to the self respect of Gujarat. A set of people, who are not concerned about ordinary Gujarati citizens, are keen to impede progress of Gujarat State and its future, are out to defame Gujarat State. In this holy land of Bahucharaji, let the 5 Crores Gujaratis acquire such power and energy, which will build tomorrow’s prosperous Gujarat. There is allegation against us that we are Hinduwadis. Oh! brothers, for the development of Bahucharaji Devi temple, our Govt. has allotted 8 Crore Rupees. Is it a crime done by us? Have we become communal by allotting 8 Crore Rupees for the development of Bahucharaji.

Our Congress friends have come out with another charge. They say, this Narendrabhai has brought Narmada water to Sabarmati river and this man is so much clever that he brought the water in the month of Shravan (a holy month for Hindus). My dear brothers, we built the dam and so water is available. Let me ask a question to my Congress  friends, if water is brought during Shravan month, those mothers / ladies residing on the banks of Sabarmati river can take bath in Narnada water and feel holiness and blessedness. Then what is paining them? Since, we (means BJP) are here, we brought  water in Sabarmati during the month of Shravan, when you are there, you can bring it in the month of Ramdan (the holy month of Muslims). When, we brought water in the month of Shravan, you feel bad. When we spend money for the development of Bahucharaji also, you feel bad.

What brother, should we run relief camps? (referring to relief camps for riot affected Muslims). Should I start children producing centers there, i.e relief camps? We want to achieve progress by pursuing the policy of family planning with determination. We are 5 and our 25 !!! (Ame panch, Amara panch, referring the Muslim polygamy). On whose name such a development is pursued? Cant Gujarat implement family planning? Whose inhibitions are coming in our way? Which religious sect is coming in the way? Why money is not reaching to the poor? If some people go on producing children, the children will do cycle puncture repair only?  If we want to develop Gujarat, every child born in Gujarat should get education, enlightenment, livelihood and the economic order should be built up accordingly. For  this purpose, there is a need for teaching a lesson to those people, who are expanding  their population (Hinting at Muslims). If we object to the explosion of population, they  feel bad. Can somebody tell me, is there any Nation like ours? Is China ruled by BJP? Still China had enacted a law to curb population explosion. Here some people say no
no, Are we religious fundamentalists. Brothers, in this matter, how religion is involved?

In Gujarat, Madrasas are coming up in large numbers. The children have right to get primary education. But, Madrassa going child is deprived of primary education. What will such a child do, when he grows up? Suppose, normal education is not available and only religious education is available, will it not be a burden on Gujarat. We are scrutinizing Madrassas from Kachchh (district) onwards. Now these people may say that  we are communalists. If West Bengal Govt. put restrictions on Madrassas, it is secular, but when it is done in Gujarat, how do we become communal? Any institution needs regulation. If we want peace in Gujarat, we have to make long term plans. We cannot permit merchants of murder freely operate in Gujarat. I am sitting in the holy place of Shakti (energy), in the lotus feet of Bahucharaji Mata. I want to assure you that I may lose the chair tomorrow or today. But, I will not allow those plotting to destroy Gujarat and harm the innocent, to carry out their plans. Gujarat wants happiness, Gujarat wants peace, 5 Crores Gujaratis are united and progressing. The days of somebody like Daud Ibrahim sitting in Karanchi and playing games of murder and destruction are over. We would not permit it. For what purpose all this is done. My chair may go today or tomorrow. We are not sticking to the chair with fevikol. Brothers, we are sitting at the feet of the Gujaratis. If the people feel that this person (referring to himself) will work, then they will put him as their head. And if the people don’t feel, then they will kick us out. Brothers, we are a set of people, who are always at your service. The Congress is afraid of going to the people; they do not want the election. Oh brothers, if you do not want the election because you are going to be defeated and so you want to delay the holding of election? Smt. Indira Gandhi was afraid of going to the election. Therefore, she extended the tenure of the Parliament to 6 years. Why don’t you do the same thing? But you are afraid of doing that.

What do you talk? There are disturbances in Gujarat.  The people of Gujarat indulge in riots. If you don’t want face election you have no right  to abuse 5 Crores Gujaratis. This is not acceptable to us. If you have courage, brothers, why don’t you bare your chests and face us in the battle field of election? Why do you run away? If one has to run away, we have to do it. There is propaganda is against me through out the World. It is done by you (Congress men). We are willing to go to the  people and you are running away from the people. Why don’t you go to Italy?, Go, and  offer aarti (offering by holy flame) to the Election Commission. You are shouting, stop  elections, stop elections, Oh mother ! stop elections, Oh Congress friends ! We have taken the dust from the feet of 5 Crores Gujarati on our head. We are one with them and we are proud of telling that. We are not cheats. If you go to collect the dust from the feet of the people of Gujarat they will kick you. We have no selfishness. This daughter of Italy (Sonia Gandhi) had given us open certificate that we had insulted the land of  Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel. We have to demand your answer in this matter.
How much did you insult Sardar Patel? The Nehru dynasty of Congress people, develop fever hearing the name of Sardar Patel. You may feel sad, Sanjay Gandhi was no great man other than being the husband of Menka Gandhi. But, there is samadhi of Sanjay Gandhi at Rajgadh. Oh my Brothers and Sisters of Gujarat ! Sardar Patel does not have a samadhi (in Delhi). We feel very sad about it. You Congress people, you are toiling for effacing out the name and image of Sardar Patel, but I warn you, Beware, if you try to wipe out the fame and name of Sardar, we are here to sacrifice our lives for keeping the flag of Sardar at high pedestal. We believe that, if we have to do good of the Nation, we have to adopt the path of Sardar Patel. If you want to save Kashmir, you have to walk in the path of Sardar Patel. If you want to bring unity in Gujarat, you have to adopt the path of Sardar Patel. If you want to contain and check the merchants of murder, we have to follow the path of Sardar Patel. Our motto is to pursue the path of Sardar. There are people, bent upon destroying Gujarat. We have come out for awakening the self-respect of Gujarat. If we raise the self-respect and morale of 5 Crores Gujratis, the schemes of  Alis, Malis and Jamalis (referring to Muslims) will not be successful to do any harm to us. These 5 Crores Gujaratis will decide about their future. The buffoons of Delhi will not decide the future of Gujarat.

In Delhi, there is a crowd of Ex. Prime Ministers, who are sitting idle. In the evening, these Ex.Prime Ministers meet. They issued Fatva (royal proclamation) that in Gujarat the Rathyatra of Jagannathji should not be taken out. We asserted that it will be taken out. In Gujarat, if the Rathyatra of Jagannathji is not taken out, whose Rathyatra should come out ? People sitting in Culcutta (referring to the communists), do not want the Rathyatra to come out. It will be better to go out of the Govt. instead of not taking out Jagannath Rathyatra. I don’t care if I loose political power and authority. We have decided that Jagannath Rathyatra will be taken out. Then, the whole crowd of Congress people rushed to Delhi, to Madam (Sonia Gandhi), appealing, Madam save us, this Narendra Modi is a mad man, and we cannot compete with him. Save us, solve the problem of Narendra Modi. Madam said, what happened? Stop Jagannath Rathyatra, if the Rathyatra of Jagannathji is taken out Gujarat will burn.  Muslims will be massacred, there will be wide spread hue and cry, stop the Rathyatra of Jagannathji, stop the Rathyatra of Jagannathji, stop the Rathyatra of Jagannathji. When Congress men told this thing to Madam, finally she asked, brothers, tell me this Jagannathji is belonging to which political party? Is this Jagannath Rathyatra like Advani’s Rathyatra ? (The Congress men replied) Oh Madam, this Jagannath is not worker of any Party. Jagannath is God (Bhagwan). Does Bhagwan Jagannath belong to any Party? See, such (ignorant) people are set our for serving the Nation !!! Mahatma Gandhi used to say “Drive away these white men”, “Oh white men, quit our Country”. But, what did Congress do? Oh white people, please come, be our Congress President, Oh white people, please come, be our Congress President. Congress is like a Dharmashala. They (Congress men) are set out for destroying Gujarat. Therefore, there is a need for awakening the self-respect of Gujarat. In this holy place of Mother Goddess, let us pray God, to bestow us fresh energy, let there be new ideas. By serving the Mother India, let us make Gujarat also proud. We should enhance and brighten the image and identity of Gujarat. Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Vande Matram, Vande Matram, Vande Matram.

SIT Prelim Report page 160

SIT Final Report  pp 241-242

As regards the public speech delivered at Becharaji, Mehsana District on 09-09-2002, as a part of Gaurav Yatra, Shri Narendra Modi has explained that the speech did not refer to any particular community or religion. According to Shri Modi, this was a political speech in which he has pointed out the increasing population of India and had remarked that “can’t Gujarat implement family planning?” Shri Narendra Modi has claimed that his speech has been distorted by some interested elements, who had misinterpreted the same to suit their designs. He has also stated that there were no riots or tension after his election speech. The explanation given by Shri Modi is unconvincing and it definitely hinted at the growing minority population.

As regards the public speech delivered at Becharaji, Mehsana District on 09-09-2002, as a part of Gaurav Yatra, Shri Narendra Modi has explained that the speech did not refer to any particular community or religion. According to Shri Modi, this was a political speech in which he has pointed out the increasing population of India and had remarked that “can’t Gujarat implement family planning?” Shri Narendra Modi has claimed that his speech has been distorted by some interested elements, who had misinterpreted the same to suit their designs. He has also stated that there were no riots or tension after his election speech. No criminality has come on record in respect of this aspect of allegation

To get a flavour of the carnival like atmosphere in Gaurav Yatra, see the following video from 00:05:00 onwards. Modi's speech is interspersed with accounts of survivors.

Case against Modi rests on much stronger grounds than his statements. But that will be another post.However a comparison of SIT preliminary & final reports can be found in Communalism Combat