Modi's 'hang me' remark reprehensible, says Moily

July 26, 2012

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New Delhi, July 26: Congress ministers Thursday slammed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his remark "Hang me if I am guilty" with reference to the 2002 riots in the state, terming it "highly reprehensible and irresponsible".

In an interview to Urdu weekly Nai Duniya, Modi said "Hang me if I am guilty ('Main gunehgaar hoon toh mujhe phaansi par latkaa do')" on the Gujarat riots.

Modi, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, has been accused of giving tacit support to the riots in which more than 1,000 Muslims were killed following the Feb 27, 2002, Godhra train burning incident in which 57 'kar sewaks' returning from Ayodhya were burnt alive.

Union Corporate Affairs Minister M. Veerappa Moily, reacting to Modi's remark, said it was for the judiciary to decide on the guilty and take appropriate steps to punish them.

Asked if Modi's remark was aimed at appeasing the minorities, Moily said: "I don't know whether it is to appease minorities. But I think it is highly reprehensible and irresponsible".

Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid, taking a dig at Modi, said if the Gujarat chief minister was aiming to change his image with such a remark, it would be better to change his behaviour and role instead.

Khurshid told reporters: "I don't think we believe in kangaroo justice. Whatever the law is in the country will prevail. The courts will decide. The agencies that are working for the courts will have to decide, place the material before the court, and the court will take a decision."

"I don't think that we either in the streets can decide or that Modi can take a decision by himself," he said.

"We all have faith in the courts of the land and we will wait for the courts to say what they believe is the right thing to do," he said.

Asked if Modi's remark was aimed at a pro-minority image, Khurshid said: "If he wants to improve his image, let him. But I feel he should change his behaviour and his role (kirdar). That will be the best. Changing image will not help."

Modi's interview in Nai Duniya was conducted by Shahid Siddiqui, a former Rajya Sabha member from the Samajwadi Party.

The interview dealt with the post-Godhra riots, the state of Muslims in Gujarat and other sensitive issues.

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Agencies
February 25,2020

New Delhi, Feb 25: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday called a meeting to discuss the prevailing situation in the national capital after violence in Northeast Delhi over the amended citizenship law left four people dead.

Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and representatives of different political parties were invited for the meeting.

Follow live updates of clashes among CAA protesters in Delhi here

The home minister has convened a meeting to discuss the current situation in Delhi, a Home Ministry official said.

The move came after the home minister reviewed the law and order situation in the national capital on Monday night as violence rocked Northeast Delhi.

Frenzied protesters torched houses, shops, vehicles and a petrol pump, besides hurling stones.

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Agencies
July 13,2020

Jaipur, July 13: Amid a deepening political crisis in Rajasthan where the number 2 leader of the Congress party Sachin Pilot has revolted, over 200 Income Tax (I-T) sleuths raided the residences and properties of two of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s close confidants.

The Income Tax department has carried out searches at over a dozen locations linked to Congress leader Dharamender Rathore as well as jewellery firm owner Rajiv Arora, both of whom are considered close to Gehlot.

Officials said that the raids that are underway in Jaipur, Kota, Delhi, and Mumbai were done after a complaint of tax evasion was made. Under the scanner, they said, are transactions that were made outside the country.

The curious timing of the Income Tax department’s action against Gehlot’s aides has made the Congress accuse the sleuths of acting on the behest of the BJP.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted: “After all, BJP's lawyers came on the field. The Income Tax Department started raids in Jaipur. When will ED arrive?”

The Congress is facing a cliffhanger in Rajasthan after the open rebellion by deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who on Sunday night claimed that he had the support of 30 MLAs and that Gehlot was leading a minority government in the state.

However, Congress leader Avinash Pande on Monday said 109 MLAs have signed a letter of support to the chief minister, well above the majority mark of 100. The party has issued a whip to all the MLAs, asking them to attend the Congress Legislature Party meeting at 10.30 am. 

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News Network
January 11,2020

New Delhi, Jan 11: Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has revealed that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government offered to drop false money-laundering charges against him and provide with a "safe passage to India" in return for his support to the government's move to revoke Article 370 of the Constitution.

In a statement issued by Naik's PR team on Saturday, the Islamic preacher said that he was approached by a representative of the Indian government in September, who offered him the said deal on Kashmir, which he refused.

"Three and a half months before, the Indian officials approached me for a private meeting with a representative of the Indian government. When he came to Putrajaya (a Malaysian city), in the fourth week of September 2019, to meet me, he said that he is coming after personally meeting and under the direct instructions of the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and the Home Minister of India Amit Shah," Naik said in a video statement released by his Mumbai-based PR team.

Naik, who has been living in Malaysia for the last three years, is facing charges of inciting communal disharmony and committing unlawful activities in India.

"(The representative) said that he wanted to remove the misconceptions and miscommunications between myself (Naik) and the Indian government, and wants to provide me a safe passage to India," he added. "He (the representative) said that he would like to use my connections to better the relationship between India and the other Muslim countries."

"The meeting lasted for several hours. He told me that he wanted me to support the BJP government when they revoked Article 370 in Kashmir. And I flatly refused," he added.

Naik said that after he refused the offer, he was further asked to not make public statements against the BJP or Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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