 PRAKASH KARAT
CPM GENERAL SECRETARY
It is a serious indictment of the Gujarat Chief Minister. Modi must resign. The Supreme Court will take cognisance of the report and proceedings will be initiated against Modi. Once this report is presented before the court, the continuance of Modi will be untenable. People who have actively taken part in this violence and pogrom have always been in denial mode. Now there is some hope of justice to the victims of this violence in Gujarat. |
 TEESTA SETALVAD
SECRETARY, CITIZENS FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE
As always, I heartily congratulate TEHELKA for breaking the silent complicity of the other media on Modi’s involvement in the Gujarat genocide. As a co-complainant along with Zakia Jafri – widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri – we feel extremely vindicated. All this while, the BJP and Narendra Modi went around claiming that there is no evidence to their involvement in the genocide. As is obvious from the TEHELKA story, there is a dire necessity of thorough investigation into the involvement of Modi and his men. Having said that, we have complete hope in the Supreme Court that it will see the valued observations – and not just facts – of the SIT report. For the sake of the victims of the Gujarat carnage, pinning the responsibility on the powerful people who were behind it will put an end to a culture of complicity without penalty. In this regard, the authorities should go beyond the preliminary investigations and actually register offenses. |
 JAGADANAND SINGH
RJD LOK SABHA MP (BUXAR)
There is nothing more to say now about Modi after this report. People like Modi and organisations like the RSS are out to destroy this country. We cannot even call the Gujarat horror a riot. It was plain genocide. And that is in the open now. |
 SUPRIYA SULE
NCP MP (BARAMATI)
The media has made Narendra Modi accountable to the violence that unfolded in Gujarat. It is now a moral decision for him and the BJP whether he should continue as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. |
 SHABNAM HASHMI
FOUNDING & MANAGING TRUSTEE, ANHAD
TEHELKA has always been a magazine that has stood by the marginalised of the country. We all knew that, along with Modi, several ministers had a direct role in the genocide – that some of them were in the police headquarters engineering the circumstances. TEHELKA did the same even in 2007 when it snatched the truth from the mass murderers like Babu Bajrangi himself. This report, now that it is out in the public domain, gives credibility to what we already knew. It proves false the clean chit given to Narendra Modi by The Times of India, a leading national daily. Plus, this is extremely important politically as it comes at a time when Modi is going out of his way to save his image and create a feeling that everything is hunky-dory in Gujarat. The Supreme Court has to take cognisance of the matter and Modi should be prosecuted. Even though I am sure the Supreme Court will, should it fail, I do not know what to think of Indian democracy. |
 JUSTICE PB SAWANT
CONCERNED CITIZENS’ TRIBUNAL ON GUJARAT
This is a great job done by TEHELKA. We in our Concerned Citizens Tribunal on Gujarat, have established that Modi and several other ministers and members of the Sangh Parivar were directly responsible – even engineered the pogrom. We were shocked when a large section of media reported that the SIT has given a clean chit to Modi. But this report by TEHELKA proves our indictment of Modi right. The Supreme court should step in and the ministers along with Modi should be prosecuted and asked to vacate their offices immediately. |
 BK HARIPRASAD
CONGRESS GENERAL SECRETARY IN-CHARGE OF GUJARAT
Let us not forget what happened in Gujarat was genocide, state-sponsored massacre of nearly 3,000 people. This is not mere statistics. The findings of the SIT hold immense value and I am sure the Supreme Court will take cognisance of the same. As for the government itself, it is evident that the UPA has been very serious on communalism. The BJP-RSS combine cannot understand secularism and hence cannot comprehend the Indian constitution. They are a force working against the constitution. Only stringent investigation will bring all those involved in the Gujarat genocide to book. |
 RAM VILAS PASWAN
PRESIDENT, LOK JANSHAKTI PARTY
TEHELKA has done it again. This is a very serious finding and the Supreme Court must take rigorous steps to bring the culprits to book. On the government's part, a serious investigation into the pogrom on minorities must be carried out. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee himself had claimed that Narendra Modi had not adhered to his Raj dharma, and that the Gujarat violence was a national shame. Perhaps now Narendra Modi should take note of it and step down along with his fellow ministers who were involved in the state-sponsored genocide. Now that RSS names have appeared in several blast cases all over the country, even as members of minority community were arrested for the same, the government should take serious note of the activities of these groups. |
 JAYANTHI NATARAJAN
CONGRESS SPOKESPERSON
The allegations against Narendra Modi, and the fact that SIT has found him to be both communal and having perpetrated a genocide on a minority community, takes away Modi’s halo. Even though the SIT has found him to be culpable of offenses of having a communal mindset and destruction of crucial records, it claims it does not have enough evidence to charge him. This in itself goes to show Modi’s complicity in the genocide. We are waiting for the Supreme Court’s reaction on Narendra Modi’s involvement.
Courtesy: http://www.tehelka.com/channels/impact/ModiReaction030211.asp |
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 DIGVIJAY SINGH
CONGRESS GENERAL SECRETARY
I must congratulate TEHELKA for bringing before the public the truth about the carnage in Gujarat. It is now clear that Narendra Modi is entirely responsible for the carnage in Gujarat in 2002. I don’t know if Modi has any morals. If he does, he should step down as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. |
 PRAKASH JAVADEKAR
BJP NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON
The report was given in a sealed cover, so how is it public before the court has taken cognizance of it? This is a serious case of contempt of court. If (SIT chief) Raghavan has made this report public, then his intentions are clear. That a report before being presented to the SC is being made public shows that it is being orchestrated by the Congress, which is in deep trouble right now. |
 ZAKIA JAFRI
WIDOW OF SLAIN FORMER CONGRESS MP EHSAN JAFRI
Congratulations to TEHELKA for revealing something that we have struggled to tell the world all along. The SIT report is a vindication of all our efforts to tell the world what we suffered. However, in the SIT interrogation, Modi has claimed that he did not get a call from (Ehsan) Jafri Saheb. It was in front of me that Jafri Saheb called Modi, begging for help. I saw with my own eyes what happened to him when he went downstairs to talk to the mobsters. It is high time we got justice for the dark memories we hold. The authorities concerned should take prompt steps towards providing justice to the victims of Gujarat 2002. |
 JAVED AKHTAR
RAJYA SABHA MP AND LYRICIST
If one was to objectively relate different events of the Gujarat riots, it becomes obvious that Narendra Modi was a part of it. The very fact that two police officers say they don’t remember if Modi told them to let the mob vent their pent-up anger on Muslims, shows how the Modi government has tried to cover its tracks. |
 RB SREEKUMAR
FORMER ADDITIONAL DGP (INTELLIGENCE)
The media is getting excited about this SIT report for no reason. At the end of the day, what the report says is that the operation is a success, but the patient is dead. Raghavan’s report neither has the will or the teeth to call spade a spade. The six affidavits and more than 30 evidences to show the complicity of VHP and BJP members in the genocide have been ignored. This amounts to failure of the Indian state to provide justice for the victims of Gujarat 2002, which only acts as propaganda for Islamic radicals. Therefore, this is a bad omen. Modi and all other men who belong to the BJP and the VHP, who were either complicit or blatantly involved in the carnage, have to be brought to book. |
 D RAJA
CPI NATIONAL SECRETARY
Narendra Modi was being made a modern day hero. This story goes on to say a lot about those myths. The Supreme Court should take note of the findings of the report and the law should take its course in a stringent manner. However, the onus is on the government to take prompt initiatives to get justice to the victims of Gujarat 2002 pogrom. |
 RANVIR SHOREY
ACTOR
Once again, TEHELKA has spoken as the conscience of this nation of ours, prodding it on its tiring and somewhat distracted journey to justice and equality for all, and reminding us that the country is being hoodwinked by its politicians and bureaucrats for decades. Their lust for power and wealth is not only bleeding India of its morals and ethics, but also squandering the blood of its citizens. Looking forward to hearing the Supreme Court's verdict on the matter with great anticipation. |
 ANAND PATWARDHAN
DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER
This is a brilliant story. Although most people know about the truth, it is still a very important story. I am in one way shocked to know that the SIT does not have enough evidence to prosecute Modi. Even though I am not a lawyer, I can say with conviction that there is a mountain of evidence. One could argue about why there was a leak, but people have forgotten that even the clean chit given to Modi was a leak. This story corrects all the other stories, which talked about a clean chit being given to Narendra Modi. |
 ADMIRAL VISHNU BHAGWAT
FORMER NAVAL CHIEF
Thank you for writing the truth on the Raghavan SIT. With admiration and affection. |
 WAJAHAT HABIBULLAH
CHAIRPERSON, NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR MINORITIES
What happened in Gujarat had a tragic effect on the country and on Muslims in India. There has been a lot of public concern on the matter and I think the contents of the report deserve to be brought into the public domain. |
 RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD
CHIEF SPOKESPERSON, BJP
We have demanded an investigation because when something is submitted to the Supreme Court in a sealed cover, there is sanctity to it. Also, the Supreme Court is yet to consider this report. Whatever TEHELKA has written, these are examinations of allegations leveled by many NGOs, including that of Teesta Setalvad, in the Supreme Court. The SIT has not found evidence regarding these allegations. Even in the past, allegations were made that were proved to be false.
Riots are unfortunate. Those who commit a crime must be brought to justice. In Gujarat, 700 people have been convicted of which around 70 have been convicted for 10-20 years. Ultimately, Gujarat is one of the best growth stories in the country. Hindu and Muslims live in peace, and there have been no riots thereafter. Therefore, to rake up the issue of riots is not right. The matter is pending in court and it will take action. As far as action on riot-related offences is concerned, the record for the Narendra Modi government is one of the best in India, and the Congress party is in no position to say otherwise. Under the Congress regime in Gujarat for nearly 40 years, 30 riots have taken place and only three persons have been convicted.
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