Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spoke on a range of issues, including his early life, becoming a monk, US President Donald Trump, the path to peace in Ukraine and the 2002 Gujarat riots.
In the PM Modi said that through RSS he found a life of purpose and added that he feels blessed to gain life’s values from such a sacred organisation.
The prime minister said his childhood was spent in extreme poverty and he recalled how he collected used chalk in school to polish his white canvas shoes.
Speaking on the 2002 riots in Gujarat, the prime minister said that the Godhra violence was a tragedy of “unimaginable magnitude”, adding that people were burnt alive.
He said that the perception that these were the biggest riots ever is misinformation and added that there was over 250 significant riots in Gujarat before 2002.
“On February 24, 2002, I became a State Representative, an elected representative, for the first time. And it was only around February 24th, 25th, or 26th that I stepped into the Gujarat Assembly for the very first time. On February 27, 2002, we were seated in the assembly for the budget session…when suddenly, the horrific Godhra incident occurred. It was a tragedy of unimaginable magnitude, people were burned alive,” PM Modi said in the podcast.
“You can imagine, against the backdrop of incidents like the Kandahar hijacking, the attack on Parliament, or even 9/11, and then to have so many people killed and burned alive, you can imagine how tense and volatile the situation was. Of course, this was tragic for everyone, everyone prefers peace. The perception that these were the biggest riots ever is actually misinformation. If you review the data from before 2002, you’ll see that Gujarat faced frequent riots, curfews were constantly being imposed somewhere,” he added.
PM Modi said that communal violence used to erupt in Gujarat over trivial issues, like kite-flying contests or even minor bicycle collisions.
“Before 2002, Gujarat witnessed over 250 significant riots. The riots in 1969 lasted nearly six months. So there was a long history long before I was in the picture. But that one tragic incident in 2002 became a sparking point, leading some people towards violence. Yet, the judiciary thoroughly investigated the matter,” he added.
