Chief Minister Narendra Modi described his marathon questioning by the Supreme Court-appointed SIT in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots as difficult and said he invoked God to help him emerge stronger after the interrogation.
Mr. Modi also thanked the people of Gujarat for their support in the wake of the inquiry by the Special Investigating Team (SIT).
“I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your good feelings and concerns that you showed for me during the difficult moments of yesterday. May the God, after this event, instil further strength in me.” Mr. Modi wrote in his blog in a message titled “Thanks for your support on SIT“.
“I heartily express my thankfulness to the people for their support and prayers,” the senior BJP leader said.
Mr. Modi further said, “The SIT and its marathon inquiry lasting till one in the morning has naturally worried you. I have, in all humility, tried to respect the law of our great land and endeavoured to respect the supremacy of the law by my behaviour.”
Mr. Modi was grilled for over nine hours on Saturday in two sessions that lasted till 1.10 am on Sunday with a four-hour break.
He was reported to have been questioned on a range of issues beginning with the intelligence failure on the kar sevaks returning from Ayodhya, how this may have led to the burning of the train at Godhra, the post-Godhra killings and why the police failed to act, right up to his incendiary speeches during the elections of December 2002.
Asked by reporters on Sunday if the questions put to him related to the Gulburg Society riot case, Mr. Modi said, “Questions ranged from February 27 (2002) till the elections“.
Mr. Modi suffered the ignominy of becoming the first chief minister of any state to be questioned in connection with a criminal complaint of mass murder after he and his administration were accused of aiding and abetting post-Godhra riots in Gulburg society in Ahmedabad in 2002.
He was summoned for questioning following a complaint by Zakia Jafry, widow of Eshan Jafry, who was among the 69 persons killed at the Gulburg society.
