Too late for Modi to express pain over 2002 riots, says Kapil Sibal

New Delhi: Claiming that it was 'too late' for Narendra Modi to be saying that Gujarat riots had shaken him to the core, Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Sunday attacked the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate saying his recent comments in a blog were only a belated reaction before Lok Sabha polls.

"Modi's riots baggage will remain. It is too late for him to express that he was shaken to the core. Had that been so, the core would have reacted in time, not a belated reaction just before the Lok Sabha elections," Sibal said in a write-up on his website.

The 'pain and agony' reflected in Modi's blog is for an audience whose sympathy will be vital in May, 2014, the Union Law minister added. He further said that pain was heartfelt, spontaneous and an emotion that is expressed without calculation.

"Pain can never be a belated reaction after 11 years of silence. And a person who suffers in silence cannot remain silent for 11 years. While I do not want to be cynical in my comments, I do not want to be dishonest either. This act of liberation does not connect us with the real Modi," he said.

Sibal was reacting to a blog post written by the Gujarat Chief Minister in which he said that he felt 'liberated and at peace' in the wake of the clean chit given to him by a local court in a case related to the 2002 riots and claimed he was 'shattered' by the blame laid at his door for the killings.

Modi, who had avoided media questioning on the issue for over a decade and had never said sorry or apologised for the riots, had in the blog said that he was 'shaken to the core'. Referring to Modi's blog, Sibal said that he wondered which sisters and brothers the Gujarat CM was addressing when he talked about his personal pain. The sisters and brothers of those who lost their lives needed the healing touch and, that too, immediately after the riots, Sibal said, adding that '11 years is too late'.

In his article, written in reaction to Modi's blog, Sibal said that it is the 'harrowing ordeal' of the victims, and not that of Modi, that needs attention. The wisdom of the scriptures should have dawned on Modi in 2002, not in 2013, he further stated.

"Those who plan in solitude never suffer pain in solitude. Those who believe in Newton's Laws of Motion do not wait for 11 years to react," Sibal said. Sibal also posed a series of questions. He asked where the "pain" was when the State of Gujarat defended those who now stand convicted.

"Where was the pain when affidavits about their innocence were filed in courts? Where was the pain when lawyers were paid for defending the indefensible? Where was the pain when the State did not reach out to those who were crying for help? Where was the pain of those who were seeking justice but were left in the cold? Where was the pain when the State was collaborating with the accused to settle their affidavits, while they were being prosecuted in court?," Sibal asked.