A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi admitted that the Emergency imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was a mistake, the leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government of Maharashtra wanted to know when will the BJP apologize for its wrongs, including the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole, State Minority Affairs Minister and NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik, Shiv Sena leader Kishore Tiwari and Samajwadi Party state unit President Abu Asim Azmi were among those seeking answers from the BJP.
"Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accepted that the declaration of the Emergency was wrong. After 45 years of its implementation, Congress has accepted their mistake, and the party has also apologised for the Delhi riots. Now it's the BJP's turn to apologise for the Gujarat riots. It takes a large heart to accept the wrongs of the past,” Malik said.
Nana Patole said that it was a magnanimous gesture. “There is nothing wrong in Rahul ji apologising for an old mistake. On the other hand, it is a magnanimous gesture. Gujarat riots were a blot on humanity. Will the BJP and Narendra Modi apologise for the same,” said Patole, a former Speaker of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
Tiwari, the founder of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti and Chairman of Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavlamban Mission too felt that it was a great gesture on part of Rahul Gandhi. “The Congress has realized and is trying to erase its past errors, the BJP must also do the same to improve its credibility among the masses,” said Tiwari, referring to the Gujarat riots.
“They (BJP) must categorically apologise for the Gujarat riots, plus the way minorities are being targeted, for the lynchings of Muslims, Dalits and other poor people, for the harassments in the name of 'Love Jihad’… the list is long,” said Azmi.
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