MINORITIES - 2002 - Indian Social Institute

Modi, who showed up at the BJP headquarters here for his first interaction with the media after the
violence in the state, said his security advisor, K.P.S Gill, would stay in the post "till this government is in
office." When asked if he gave the credit for controlling violence to Gill, Modi
said, "It is for you to analyse." A journalist sought to know if the string of meetings he had with Central
ministers today to push various development schemes was indicative of early polls. "It is a good
suggestion. Elections are due in March 2003 and can be held anytime before that," he said. Modi said he
had met External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh 'and requested him to get detailed information on
madrasa reforms undertaken in Pakistan, Malayasia and Indonesia. (Indian Exp 14.6.02)
14 th June
Gujarat police hunts 30-40 criminals for mob violence (7)
Ahmedabad, June 13: To eradicate the root cause of communal riots, the city police has distributed
names and description of 30 to 40 persons as "main elements" responsible for recurring violence and mob
attacks in the highly sensitive Juhapur and Vejalpur areas. Moreover, officials have .requested several
educated and well-to-do residents and local leaders to help them track and arrest these persons most of
whom have criminal and communal records-. Senior police officials have also put aside speculation
regarding hand of Pakistani infiltrators and local criminals in repeated crude bomb explosions in the
city. Guptanagar near Juhapura, Juhapura Naka and some parts of adjoining Vejalpur witnessed sudden
and vigorous spurts of mob violence and crude bomb attacks, apart from brutal murders of two
constables. , Senior police officials told The Asian Age that this measure is' being adopted since the police
has failed to control and arrest miscreants who have strong local support for some strange reason. (Asian
Age 14.6.02)
14 th June
Vajpayee follows up on letter to tell Modi: get your act together (7)
NEW DELHI, JUNE 13 : AFTER rapping him in writing for doling out insufficient relief to the Muslim
victims of the communal violence in Gujarat, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee reiterated the message
verbally when Chief Minister Narendra Modi came calling this evening.
Although Modi came with a host of state government officials in tow to boast that "95 percent of
rehabilitation" was complete, it is learnt that Vajpayee had a closed-door meeting with the CM alone so
that he could speak frankly to him. Officially, the PMO only said that Vajpayee advised Modi to
"concentrate on relief and rehabilitation work". However, this terse comment carried a wealth of meaning
in the context of the critical letter Vajpayee dashed off to Modi a couple of weeks ago. (Indian Exp
14.6.02)
14th June
Modi to reform Gujarat madrasas (7)
New Delhi, June 13: With the Assembly elections approaching, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on
Thursday stepped out to aggressively defend his government on the recent riots and make public his
decision to reform the madrasas in his state. In his first meeting with journalists in Delhi after the Gujarat
carnage Mr Modi once again held the Godhra incident responsible for the communal violence in his state.
Asserting that he was following his raj dharma the chchote sardar of Gujarat made it clear that there was
no question of his resignation over the mayhem since there is no such tradition in India. He continued to
accuse the Opposition of taking advantage of the Gujarat violence to divide the NDA. ((Asian Age 14.6.02)
16 th June
Three months on, compensation eludes families of the dead (7)
Ahmedabad, June 15: THE EFFORTS of the Modi-led Government in Gujarat to rehabilitate and
compensate the riot victims have come under a lot of criticism from all quarters, including the PMO. But
this seems to have hardly made the government move. Even three months after the Godhra carnage
and its aftermath, compensation still continues to elude even the families of those who succumbed to the
communal madness. And the reasons are not difficult to find. Nearly 300 people, many of whom may well
be dead, still continue to be listed as missing, 100 bodies, including 19 from the ill-fated S-6 coach of the
Sabarmati Express, remain unidentified and several people who saw their near and dear ones being
hacked to death do not have any proof for the same. "My husband was hit by a sword. He ran to take