Madhu Purnima Kishwar26 Dec 2013
“No case is made against Narendra Modi because even though 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 the Chief Minister Narendra Modi appeared to have been quoted out of context.”(SIT report page 99)
The full text of the SIT report clearly shows that this exoneration
is based on examining not just the veracity of the controversial remarks
of that day but also examining various other statements and speeches
Modi made in the days following the Godhra incident. In addition, SIT
also examined the actual actions of the State Government. This included
airlifting and deployment of the Army within 20 hours of the outbreak of
violence. Despite various lapses, it is not as if the police was
deliberately immobilised.
Police lobbed some 15369 tear gas shells to quell the rioters. Out of 10559 rounds of ammunition fired 5450 rounds were fired during the first three days itself. Numerous Hindus were killed in police firing at riotous mobs. Even though violence had broken out at numerous locations in different parts of the State, riots were controlled within 72 hours. Most important of all, the State has been totally free of communal tension in the last 11 years. There has not been a single day of curfew since then whereas in the earlier decades, curfews due to frequent communal outbreaks were a routine occurrence.
Since the newspapers and TV channels that misquoted Modi, refused to
rectify their mistake the mischievous misquote acquired a life of its
own and continues to be used as part of smear campaign even after the
SIT cleared Modi of this charge. This is not the first or the last time
Narendra Modi’s speeches or interviews have been twisted beyond
recognition by selectively picking a phrase or two out of a whole speech
or interview and presented in a distorted manner to present him in a
demonic light. I became aware of this game when the national media went
berserk over Narendra Modi’s “50 crore rupees girlfriend” remark during
the course of an election campaign speech in Himachal Pradesh. On the
day this controversy broke out, one of the national TV channels asked me
to join them for a panel discussion on this issue. It was expected of
me that as a women’s rights activist, I would join the chorus of
outraged feminists to condemn Modi for his supposedly obscene anti-women
remark.
However, since as a rule I don’t start reacting in the media on the basis of cursory newspaper or TV reports, I requested the guest coordinator and the anchor of the programme to send me the full text of the speech. But they said they did not have the full speech and sent me just one or two lines of that speech. I told them I would join the TV panel only if I could lay my hands on the full speech. Fortunately for me, the full speech was available on YouTube. This was the first speech of Modi I ever heard and it proved a major turning point for me. Modi had raised serious and substantial issues throughout that speech and talked with great sensitivity to the plight of rural women. Even though the “50 crore rupees girlfriend” phrase was not in good taste but given the context in which it was said, his charges had substance. And yet, not a single TV channel or newspaper report or editorial dealt with the speech as a whole or picked up any salient issue. For days on end this phrase was bandied around as an ultimate proof of Narendra Modi’s misogyny and to declare him unfit for any high office.
When I tried to point this out in the TV debate and later through an
article in The Indian Express, I was attacked for having turned an
apologist for a ‘fascist’. Since then I have downloaded and heard dozens
of Modi speeches addressing diverse audiences—from students in elite
institutions, to farmers, teachers, Government officials, business
chambers, public meetings organised by religious organisations, by
women’s organisations as well as speeches made during election campaigns
in different States. I find that each of them deal with serious issues
in a serious way.
(Madhu Kishwar welcomes your views and suggestions at madhukishwar@manushi-india.org)
Source: Niticentral
“No case is made against Narendra Modi because even though 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 the Chief Minister Narendra Modi appeared to have been quoted out of context.”(SIT report page 99)
Police lobbed some 15369 tear gas shells to quell the rioters. Out of 10559 rounds of ammunition fired 5450 rounds were fired during the first three days itself. Numerous Hindus were killed in police firing at riotous mobs. Even though violence had broken out at numerous locations in different parts of the State, riots were controlled within 72 hours. Most important of all, the State has been totally free of communal tension in the last 11 years. There has not been a single day of curfew since then whereas in the earlier decades, curfews due to frequent communal outbreaks were a routine occurrence.
However, since as a rule I don’t start reacting in the media on the basis of cursory newspaper or TV reports, I requested the guest coordinator and the anchor of the programme to send me the full text of the speech. But they said they did not have the full speech and sent me just one or two lines of that speech. I told them I would join the TV panel only if I could lay my hands on the full speech. Fortunately for me, the full speech was available on YouTube. This was the first speech of Modi I ever heard and it proved a major turning point for me. Modi had raised serious and substantial issues throughout that speech and talked with great sensitivity to the plight of rural women. Even though the “50 crore rupees girlfriend” phrase was not in good taste but given the context in which it was said, his charges had substance. And yet, not a single TV channel or newspaper report or editorial dealt with the speech as a whole or picked up any salient issue. For days on end this phrase was bandied around as an ultimate proof of Narendra Modi’s misogyny and to declare him unfit for any high office.
(Madhu Kishwar welcomes your views and suggestions at madhukishwar@manushi-india.org)
Source: Niticentral
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