Chief Justice V.N. Khare remarked even when he postponed the hearing that he would not have retired by the time the case was taken up. Indeed, the Gujarat government has been telling lies for preventing the truth from coming out. It has claimed before the Supreme Court that "almost all the bail applications of the accused for the rioting were rejected". But the findings have been to the contrary.
The bail applications were rejected in the Sessions Court only. The accused were either released on bail or acquitted by questionable high court orders. Although the cases revolved around murder charges, the state prosecutors did not contest the bail applications in the high court. Instead, they agreed to the judge releasing the accused without giving any reason. All this aroused suspicions and doubts.
Transfer of cases
The question is not about the transfer of cases alone. It is about Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's government misleading the Supreme Court. Both Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani are wrong when they say that the Gujarat massacre would not have taken place if there had been no Godhra. It was not a spontaneous reaction but a planned one. However, this is not the issue.
The issue is that of the state's role when the riots cases are being peeled off before the Supreme Court. The issue assumes all the more importance when Advani associates Modi with election campaign in the state.
They ride the same "rath" (chariot) and address the same rallies. Advani even praises the Modi government. Does it not amount to encouraging the chief minister who is already scoffing at the public's faith in the judiciary? I am not touching the morality part.
That is beyond the comprehension of most BJP leaders. I am only underlining the fact that the state is not letting justice to prevail even two years after the incidents.
Elections are a means, not an end in itself. What end should the nation expect when people like Modi are still at the helm of affairs in Gujarat? It is becoming increasingly clear that the democratically elected governments can indulge in mass murder with no remorse and no punishment.
The constitution framers had anticipated such a situation and given the central government the power to ensure that states were run according to the law of the land.
The revelations made in the Supreme Court put the onus on New Delhi to meet the demands of justice. It is obvious that the Vajpayee government is not taking any action against the Modi government because the chief minister is from the BJP.
It is understandable that the BJP cannot afford to dismiss him. Modi is the star of the Hindutva propaganda. But what the BJP has to consider is that he has become an ugly mark on the party's face. His dismissal may help the BJP rub off part of it and even persuade the Muslims to vote for the party.
Blackened the face
Modi converted Gujarat into killing fields. He blackened the face of every Hindu. Development, the BJP's poll plank, is a good concept. But it hardly conveys any meaning if the rulers are partisan in their outlook and biased in their approach.
Even after what has come before the Supreme Court, if Modi continues to get the support he is getting from Vajpayee and Advani, particularly the latter, people may lose faith in fair play and norms of governance.
Amicus curiae Harish Salve, appointed by the Supreme Court to bring out the facts, has said that the Gujarat government has been "misleading" the apex court and "withholding" high court bail orders.
More and more gruesome details are going to come out every day. A book, A Journey to Mayhem, written by a journalist who covered Gujarat during the riots, has hit the stands to tell how a distinct pattern of ethnic cleansing was followed in the state. The CBI has already pointed out the role of the police in extirpation of corpses by tucking salt into them.
But Modi remains unrepentant. It seems as if he has convinced himself that the more contemptuous he is towards the Muslims, the more solid would be the response of Hindu voters.
The manner in which the poll campaign has gone so far in the country suggests that the BJP has the well-oiled electioneering machinery, but not ideas. Sometimes the party plays up the mandir issue and sometimes it adopts a liberal posture.
But when it forces even the NDA to have the mandir on its election manifesto, its intentions are clear.
Yet, the Vajpayee government has to find an explanation as to why the Modi government has been deliberately hiding the facts from the Supreme Court. The Federal government cannot afford to falter because ultimately it is New Delhi which will have to interpret the Supreme Court's judgment and carry it out in letter and spirit.
Kuldip Nayar is a former Indian High Commissioner to the UK and a former Rajya Sabha MP. He can be contacted at knayar@gulfnews.com
