PM’s comments on Narendra Modi are ’laughable’: BJP chief

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Jan 03, 2014:  Condemning Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for saying that Narendra Modi is "someone who has presided over the mass massacre of citizens on the streets of Ahmedabad," Mr Modi’s party, the BJP, has said that Dr Singh’s remarks against its prime ministerial candidate are "unfortunate."

 

Dr Manmohan Singh today said, "It would be disastrous for the country to have Narendra Modi as Prime Minister." He went on to describe Mr Modi as "someone who has presided over the mass massacre of citizens on the streets of Ahmedabad."

Citing a court verdict that endorsed a clean chit given to the Gujarat chief minister in the 2002 communal riots in his state, BJP president Rajnath Singh said "whatever happened in 2002 is sad, but when the SIT (Special Investigation Team) and court have given him a clean chit, such a statement against him is unfortunate."

The BJP chief also slammed Dr Singh’s remark that it would be "disastrous for the country to have Narendra Modi as Prime Minister." "Narendra Modi in his tenure has made Gujarat a model state...such a comment on him is laughable," he said.

Last month, a court in Gujarat ruled that Mr Modi will not be prosecuted for his alleged complicity in the riots that lacerated his home state in 2002, leaving over 1000 people dead, most of them Muslims.

The court agreed with a report that said there was no evidence to prove that Mr Modi, in his first term as Gujarat chief minister, had fanned the communal violence in collaboration with other members of his government, bureaucrats and police officers.

Joining his party president in condemning the PM, BJP’s Shahnawaz Hussain tweeted, "PM says @narendramodi becoming PM will be disastrous. Mr PM it was your 10 yrs that hv been disastrous for India & its people(sic)."

Rajnath Singh also said that the PM’s statement that he will retire after the general election and not seek a third term even if his party defies predictions and is re-elected for a third consecutive term reflects that "he has accepted that the next government will not be from the UPA."