It has been 10 years since the 2002 riots in Gujarat. And Narendra Modi has seldom spoken about it, till this week, when he gave a rare interview to Samajwadi Party member and Nai Duniya editor Shahid Siddiqui. Excerpts:
On his prime ministerial ambitions
There is nothing but Gujarat in my mind, dreams and thoughts. Gujarat, Gujarat, Gujarat. The prosperity of Gujarat is the prosperity of India. If we produce good salt, the nation will get good quality salt (laughs).
On bringing the bodies of Hindus killed at Godhra to Ahmedabad (an event believed to have triggered the subsequent bloodbath)
No matter whose body it is, it needs to be returned to the families. It was not right for everyone to go to Godhra where there was tension...and the passengers were all going to Ahmedabad, so the question was, do we shift bodies individually or collectively, in the day or at night? The civil hospital in Ahmedabad is small but there is a civil hospital on the outskirts, so we shifted all bodies there, from where they were given. Processions were not allowed.
On not apologising for riots
You should see the statements I made at that time and the interview I gave in 2005. If a government is responsible for what happened, it should be hanged in a street square. They should be hanged as a deterrent, so no administrator dares do this again. If Modi has sinned, then Modi should be hanged...I think I managed to stop the rioting. I will not admit that I couldn’t.
On Atal Behari Vajpayee saying Modi should obey his raj dharma
The full statement is not publicised by the media. Yes, he said that I should follow the raj dharma but he continued to say that I am following it.
On Muslims in Gujarat
The situation of Muslims is better in Gujarat than in so-called pseudo-secular states. And the possibility of their improvement is as high as of Hindus improving their lot in Gujarat.
For audio and transcript in Devnagari, please click here