Gujarat riot victims call Narendra Modi's fast a stunt

The riot victims of Naroda Patiya have condemned chief minister Narendra Modi's 'Sadbhavna Mission' saying ''there cannot be Sadbhavna without justice''. In an open letter to the chief minister, the victims have dismissed the mission as another publicity stunt and demanded that justice be done to them.

The strongly-worded letter by the 2002 riot victims states that they have no ill feelings against any particular community but they are victims of powerful political forces.

"We alone can create Sadbhavna by uniting and defeating the forces of fraud and deception for vote politics. You may be doing all this for your great ambition, but we have only one small demand-we want justice," the letter reads.

The victims have also raised several questions over action taken by the CM against those responsible for the alleged failure of police to control the riots and failure of government to prosecute the culprits.

The letter also poses a question as to how FIRs filed in encounter cases mention that those eliminated in those operations had come to Ahmedabad to kill Modi. Moreover, why the state government has not taken any action against the police officials booked for these encounters, it asks.

The victims have clamed that economic development in the state is not all-compassing. "You may have turned Gujarat into a heaven for a handful of rich and powerful. But have you peeped into the hell through which we, the victims and the community as a whole, are going through?" they have written about Modi. 

Meanwhile, under the aegis of Jan Sangharsh Manch, a civil rights organisation, the victims and activists tried to organise sachi sadbhavna shabha near Noorani Masjid at Naroda Patiya. However, they were detained as they were not granted permission by the police to stage a protest in the open space.

Amrish Patel, general-secretary of Jan Sangharsh Manch, condemned police action and said that their intention was to just raise quiet protest against the injustice. Pravin Mishra, another member of the organisation,   said that only the victims have the right to call a sadbhavna sabha.