Give date, time of appearaning before SIT, Congress tells Modi

"If he (Modi) has nothing to hide, he must tell the band of time when he will appear. To alleviate doubts, the government (Gujarat) and the party should not indulge in misinformation but tell the date and time," Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters here in connection with Modi appearing before the Special Investigation Team.

Pointing out that the BJP, Gujarat government and Modi were silent on the issue, Singhvi said "Why doesn't he tell the date and time?". Modi did not show up at the SIT's office in Ahmedabad on March 21.

He was summoned by the panel with regard to a complaint filed by Zakia Jaffery, wife of slain former MP Eshan Jaffrey in the 2002 Gulburg society riots case.

59-year-old Modi has sought legal alternatives in response to the summons by the SIT on March 11. It was for the first time that the chief minister was called for questioning in connection with the riots.

Modi wrote an open letter to BJP's legal-eagle and senior leader Arun Jaitley saying, "SIT had not fixed March 21, 2010 for my appearance. To say that I was summoned on March 21 is completely false."

The SIT Chief R K Raghavan had on March 11 said Modi was summoned to appear before the panel for questioning on March 21.