People's Democracy

FIVE weeks after the worst communally motivated violence since the days of Partition, the prime minister found it convenient to visit Gujarat. Accompanied by the man responsible for the state-sponsored pogroms, Narendra Modi, prime minister Vajpayee stated that he was ashamed about what had happened in Gujarat. By the end of the visit, Vajpayee made it clear that Narendra Modi would continue as the chief minister and all that he was prepared to do was to mildly exhort him to observe "raj dharma." For the Muslim minorities huddled in abysmal conditions in the refugee camps, this attitude of the prime minister to Narendra Modi must have seemed to be a cruel farce.

The man told to follow the principle of "raj dharma" had been busy in the past few weeks upholding the fascist principle of the mass elimination of the minorities from Gujarat. No other chief minister in independent India had set out two standards for compensation for dead victims based on religious affinity. Further, this RSS pracharak took the subversion of the state machinery to its logical conclusion to serve the interests of the Hindutva forces. Since the violence erupted in Gujarat, 27 police officers were transferred, not for inaction or dereliction of duty but for fulfilling their elementary responsibility to put down violence. Even the docile director general of police recorded his protest at four IPS officers being transferred for discharging their duties.

Immediately after Vajpayee's visit, the country was reminded that the horrors perpetrated in the state have not ended. Two Muslim families were burnt alive in Abasana village alongwith continuing violence in Ahmedabad, Vadodara etc.

Another shocking incident was the attack by the BJP-RSS mob on a peace meeting at the Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati. The assault on Medha Patkar and the police action of beating media persons covering the event, shown on television throughout the country, gave a graphic message of the actual state of affairs in Gujarat. The police are there to protect the marauding VHP-RSS gangs and anyone who seeks to expose their actions become targets of police action. According to the state's official report to the National Minorities Commission, of the 137 persons killed in police firing, more than half are Muslims. After the Godhra incident, it was Muslims who were subjected to attacks all over the state and yet they have been targetted in the police firing.

No section of society in the rest of India has remained unaffected by the horrendous violence in Gujarat. Revulsion and outrage have been the common sentiment of all decent citizens. Only the RSS and the BJP leadership are immune to these sentiments. The BJP president has repeatedly come out defending Narendra Modi and the state administration, taking the cue from the stance of the RSS bosses. Even the opportunist allies in the NDA find it difficult to swallow such a stance. The Samata Party has lost its general secretary, Shambu Shrivastav, after disowning his stand that Narendra Modi should go. George Fernandes, the most loyal servitor, has rallied behind the BJP. The unease amongst the non-BJP allies is a reflection of the widespread condemnation of the BJP on the issue.

Even a section of the big bourgeoisie, which has been supporting the BJP, is speaking out against the Gujarat violence. The statement of the HDFC chairman, Deepak Parekh, is a striking example.

The question of removing Narendra Modi from the chief ministership is not one of settling political scores, nor or any misplaced emphasis on the removal of one individual from a position of authority. If there has to be any steps taken to punish those guilty of this carnage, investigation conducted, cases filed and speedy trials held, then Narendra Modi cannot stay in office. If those officers who were responsible for grave dereliction of duty are to be punished, then, the chief minister who made them violate their responsibility has to first go.

The BJP and its RSS bosses are mistaken if they think that the people will view the demand for Narendra Modi's removal as a simple matter of political manoeuvres. Every citizen in India is conscious enough to understand that what has happened in Gujarat is inimical, in a fundamental sense, to the country and its democratic edifice. The more the BJP refuses to heed this sane and powerful public voice, the more it will suffer punishment by the people. Its allies in the NDA must remember that they too, are faced with this stark choice.