Mod(i)us Operandi Exposed UPA must immediately ground Saffron hawks

Hats off to Tehelka, which has, with its yet another effective and convincing sting operation, removed the veneer from the Bharatiya Janata Party’s crude communal agenda and exposed its fascist policies.

And, given the track record of the BJP, it is hardly surprising to see the party stalwarts coming out in defence of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi instead of firing him over his criminal involvement in the well-planned 2002 riots, which systematically targeted the Muslim minority.

If the BJP considers Modi an angel, why did it not outright reject as fake the tape, which shows that Modi gave the perpetrators of the heinous crime three days to unleash their fury on defenceless Muslims all over his state? A BJP functionary admitted that he attended a meeting, in which it was decided that after three days Modi would call a halt and the atrocities would end.

Ever since the inhuman Saffron role in the state-supported Muslim pogrom has come to light, the BJP leaders are understandably trying to politicise the issue. A party spokesman described the Tehelka sting as an election stunt stage-managed by Congress. He also said the sting operation was based on rumours and hearsay. But camera does not lie. And the lens does not leave room for spin doctors to analyse things for or against a party. Saffron hawks bragging with graphic details as to how they lynched Muslim men and women were not rehearsing for a soap opera. The footage was filmed over six months. Therefore, it can’t be concocted.

The Supreme Court of India has time and again restored people’s trust in the rule of law. Today, peace- and justice-loving people once again look to the apex court, which should take suo motto notice of the hair-raising revelations. Modi and his comrades-in-crime should be booked for conspiracy, premeditated mass murder, rape, arson and loot.
They are explaining on tape how they killed, how they cut out a live foetus by slashing the stomach of a pregnant mother, how they used swords to chop the arms off the shoulders and the testicles of Congress MP Ehsan Jaffery and then burnt him alive, how Modi congratulated them on their cowardice by saying: dhannya ho (glory to you). Is this not enough to implicate the chief minister? Do they need further evidence?

The admissions on tape have put a big question mark over the credibility and integrity of the state police apparatus also. When the marauders were on the prowl, Gujarat police not only stood by, they even helped in cover-ups. They helped rioters transport bodies to distant places to be buried in mass graves. Human rights activists should use the tape as legal proof and the corrupt cops must be hauled up in courts and charged with carrying out carnage on the orders of their political masters.

The BJP’s argument that why there have been no sting operations against Congress does not hold any water.

Manu Sharma’s father, Venod Sharma, had to resign after a Tehelka expose showed that key witnesses were paid off to shield his son, prime accused in the Jessica Lal murder case.

It was Tehelka, which showed that senior police officers, responsible for inciting anti-Sikh violence during the Congress rule in 1984, were not merely exonerated; they were rewarded with promotions and gallantry awards.

It was Tehelka, which unearthed the misuse of discretionary quota in the allotment of petrol stations by former petroleum minister Satish Sharma, a Congress veteran.
And even if the expose has been deliberately made public keeping in view coming Gujarat elections, what’s wrong in that? Voters have the right to see the real face of their leaders before elections. The BJP’s knee-jerk reaction to the expose is typical of any Saffron brigade. They attack the messenger before reading the message. Their stance on Modi is untenable. It will rob the party of credibility (if any) in their own constituency. They should be ideally scurrying to take action against the black sheep in the party, but the second-rank leadership is unabashedly terming the expose a conspiracy against Modi.

The party has forgotten that Atal Behari Vajpayee had advised Modi to follow his ‘dharma’ after the bloodshed. And the Hindu ‘dharma’ is to do the right thing. Now Vajpayee, being the top BJP leader, has to take a stand on those who have brought a bad name to the party. But where will Vajpayee start? From Lal Krishna Advani who, through his rath yatras, brazenly whipped up communal passions and which resulted in the killings of the hundreds of members of the principal minority?

The lives of survivors and witnesses of Gujarat 2002 are in serious danger today with those accused of mass crimes roaming free, gloating about the accused who raped, killed, made arms and conspired with the topmost authorities in the state.  The media is sending out warnings that a second attack could be in offing anytime if Modi is desperate to win the assembly elections. It would be appropriate if the Election Commission stops Modi from being in the fray.

Although the Congress Party is notorious for having organised hundreds of big and small communal riots, the least it can do now, after watching criminals boasting their murderous triumphs, is ban the terrorist organisations like RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal immediately.