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Journalism of Courage
Accusing the Concerned Citizens Tribunal, led by Justice Krishna Iyer, of acting at ‘‘the behest of radical Islamic and pseudo-secularist groups, VHP international secretary Pravin Togadia today threatened to take the tribunal to court if it did not tender an apology for making ‘‘derogatory and false’’ allegations against him.
The tribunal had indicted caretaker Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others, including Togadia, holding them responsible for the post-Godhra riots. Upset over certain remarks in the report released yesterday, Togadia accused ‘‘Leftists and secularists of siding with radical Islamic movements such as the Tableegh Jamaat to defame the Hindu community’’.
The BJP also rejected the tribunal’s charges, alleging that the report was aimed at ‘‘giving political advantage to the Congress’’. Togadia said the tribunal had falsely claimed that he made derogatory remarks against Muslim women at a public meeting in Tarsali. ‘‘The speech has been recorded and we have copies. The statement attributed to me is an attempt to defame the entire Hindu community,’’ he said.
Togadia debunked claims in the report that he had prevented Hindu doctors from attending to Muslim patients by directing all Hindu doctors to assemble in his hospital.
‘‘From February 17 to March 27, I was not in Gujarat. The report mentions that on February 28, I tried to prevent nurses and doctors from attending to Muslim riot victims by making an appeal on local TV channels,’’ he said.
