The Hindu : Reference was not to minorities, says Modi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 18, 2002

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Reference was not to minorities, says Modi

By Our Special Correspondent

GANDHINAGAR Sept. 17. The Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, has said that he had used the phrase "hum paanch, hamare pachhis'' with reference to population explosion in his speech at Becharaji in north Gujarat during the first leg of the Gujarat Gaurav Rath Yatra, and denied that it was directed against the minorities.

Talking to mediapersons on board the `rath' during the second leg of the `yatra' that terminated at the famous pilgrim centre of Dwarka on Monday night, Mr. Modi said it was wrong to assume that "hum paanch... '' was directed against the Muslims. It was only a general reference to population explosion.

He was, however, silent on the comment, "should we run relief camps indefinitely to beget children,'' which he reportedly made in the course of the same speech last week. Since the relief camps are being run only for the riot-hit Muslims, Mr. Modi found it difficult to claim that the reference had nothing to do with the minorities. The chief co-ordinator of the yatra and MP, Jayantibhai Barot, who went along with Mr. Modi, also maintained that the reference was not directed against the minorities.

The former Chief Minister, Keshubhai Patel, however, felt that Mr. Modi should not have indulged in such blatant criticism of the minorities, if the comments attributed to him were true.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat Home Department, which was asked by the National Commission for Minorities to send the text of Mr. Modi's speech has washed its hands off the controversy, saying that the yatra was a political event.

The Intelligence Department, however, is reportedly recording every speech of Mr. Modi during the second leg, but he has judiciously avoided any critical reference to the minorities.

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Reference was not to minorities, says Modi