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October 6, 2003 Rediff
on Net Godhra
victims allege BJP 'pressure' Syed
Firdaus Ashraf in Mumbai | October 05, 2003 23:28 IST In
an embarrassing development for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in
Gujarat, some relatives of the Godhra train carnage on Sunday
alleged being 'pressurised' by party and Vishwa Hindu Parishad
workers. They
also demanded shifting of the Nanavati Commission of inquiry outside
the state, as they had 'no faith' in the Narendra Modi government. Addressing
mediapersons in Mumbai, the relatives, under the aegis of city based
NGO -- Citizens for Justice and Peace -- alleged that BJP and VHP
had 'used' them for political gains and said they felt abandoned. "The
BJP had taken our family members to Ayodhya and assured of bringing
them back safely. Why were they sent back without none of the BJP
members accompanying them?" asked 82-year-old Dr Girish Rawal,
whose wife Sudha was killed in the carnage and son Ashwin was
stabbed in post-Godhra violence. Asked
if he felt that the Muslims were involved in the burning of the
coach S-6, Dr Rawal said, "We cannot say that who was involved.
We don't want to blame a particular community for that incident. We
can only say that anti-social elements have done this act. They did
this to disturb the peace of Gujarat." After
the death of his wife, he lost his son Ashwin Rawal in the riots
that followed the tragedy. Ashwin was a local Bajrang Dal president.
"I
just want to appeal to everyone. Forget about the past and let all
of us live in peace in this country. I don't want to blame any
particular community for the death of my wife and my child. I just
want to say that anti-social elements are involved in these
incidents and they have got nothing to do with their religion. Their
only aim is to disturb peace in our country," said Dr Rawal. Bharat
Panchal who lost his wife Jyotibehn in the tragedy said,
"The VHP and the BJP leaders have forgotten all of us.
They only politicised the Godhra issue over the dead bodies of our
loved ones. For the past 17 months, they have not even bothered to
come and ask on how we were doing. Sharad
Mhatre, whose wife Malabehn too died, said, "When I look back
at the horrific incident, I feel that not a single VHP leader died
in the incident. They had booked their train tickets from Ayodhya
two days later. What was the reason to do so? I still don't
understand." Prakash
Chodagar who lost his wife Nilimabeh said, "The VHP and the BJP
have amassed crores of rupees in our name. We have not got more than
Rs 200,000 after we lost our family members. There is nobody to
question them in Gujarat. They have cheated all of us in the name of
religion and made money over the dead bodies of our loved
ones." The
grieving family members also complained that none of them was given
adequate time to appear before the Nanavati commission, which is
inquiring into the Godhra tragedy and the riots that followed later.
"We
are being told by the VHP leaders on what to say and what not to say
in front of the Justice Nanavati commission. This is unacceptable to
us. We are therefore demanding that Godhra inquiry and also other
inquiries like the Naroda Pattiya and Gulberg massacres should be
conducted outside Gujarat," said Bharatbhai. They
also appealed to all Indians not to participate in the forthcoming
Ayodhya yatra of the VHP. Noted
Bollywood lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar who is also a member of
Citizens for Peace and Justice said, "They have no word of
hatred in their talks against anyone or any community. They feel
that they were used as political pawns. Now, they want everyone to
live in peace and therefore we all must salute them for their
thoughts."
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