JOIN USThe Congress on Wednesday had to handle a crisis of sorts within its coalition with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP going soft on BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and National Conference threatening to bring down the coalition government in Jammu & Kashmir.
In a surprise move, NCP vice-president Praful Patel said his party will not question Modi’s role in post-Godhra riots since the courts have absolved him of any guilt.
“We are in an era when we believe that the judicial system is the final recourse to getting justice on any issue or to bring finality to any controversy, and, if the judicial system has given any pronouncement, we ought to respect it. We will not question it further,” Patel, also the Union Minister for Heavy Industries, said here.
He was replying to questions on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's attack on the Gujarat Chief Minister in a television interview accusing his government of abetting and driving the 2002 riots in the state.
While it is up to the individuals to give each other’s versions in interviews, Patel said politics is based on perceptions, not just of the politicians, but of the people too.
“But the fact remains that if the judicial system has given certain finality to any controversy, then we should let it rest there,” the NCP leader said.
The Congress downplayed Patel’s comments, saying each political party is entitled to its views.