Echo of riots silenced by Gujarat war of words

While the rest of Gujarat is festooned in garish election garb, Gulbarg Society in Meghani Nagar wears a haunted look. The charred walls and windows and the ruins of what was once a bustling neighbourhood are today a grim reminder of the nightmare that tore through Gujarat in 2002.

The silence is deafening, the steps leading to the rundown buildings remain desolate and the doors are locked. The people who lived here are either dead or have chosen to stay away.

Amidst the election campaign and the big war of words between the Congress and Narendra Modi, the link that seems to be missing is that of justice for those who suffered in the 2002 riots.
The Gujarat elections appear like national elections with the Congress talking about Masood Azhar and the BJP raising the issue of Afzal Guru. Yet, no one wants to talk about the post-Godhra riots.

So have the riot victims been forgotten in Gujarat's high-voltage election campaign? This question was debated on CNN-IBN show Face The Nation on Friday by a panel comprising Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, BJP's Prakash Javadekar and filmmaker Rahul Dholakia.

Dholakia directed Parzania - the film based on the post-Godhra riots - and tried to address the question in great detail as to why nothing was done about those who suffered.

Asked about the Congress' paranoia with the post-Godhra riots issue, Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi rejected the contention that his party was scared of talking about the riots as it could polarise the Gujarati voter.

Courtesy:ibnlive.com
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