Predictable no-show

The Supreme Court-supervised special investigation team had kept its Gandhinagar office open on Sunday,expecting that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi would present himself. But the chief minister chose to stay away. Claiming that no date was set,he is said to be exploring legal avenues with regard to the summons issued to him by the SIT on March 11. The panel is seeking a few answers from him on the massacre in Gulbarg Society in February 2002 and the state governments words and deeds in the aftermath of the Godhra incident. The SIT claims there has been no communication from the government on the summons. Of course,Modi may appear before the SIT yet.

The state machinery of Gujarat,irrespective of whether the chief ministers own culpability is established or not,cannot evade the charges of criminality levelled against it. After Gujarat burned in 2002,the state administration,its police and lower rungs of judiciary were all accused of conniving in the denial of justice. In fact,the apex court had to finally transfer the most critical cases out of the state. The SIT summons to Modi itself is the result of a Supreme Court order last April the apex court last week agreed to consider an appeal against that order to inquire into the complaint of Zakia Jafri,widow of former MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the Gulbarg violence,against 63 individuals,including the chief minister.

That is why,the summons had great symbolic import,if little else. Modi made quite a brand out of Gujarat and his development mantra subsequent to the convulsions of 2002; subsequent to the foregrounding of Gujarati asmita pride as a reply to those calling the state to account. On top of it all,Modi has not,till date,publicly regretted the murderous mayhem of 2002. Therefore,it was necessary for the chief minister to present himself before the SIT in response to the summons. This bit of grace was required from him. Unfortunately,he chooses neither to possess nor to display it; and certainly not to offer it.