Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday didn't appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has summoned him for questioning in connection with a 2002 riots case.
The SIT, which has been appointed by the Supreme Court, has not received any communication from the state government regarding the summons issued on March 11, said sources in the investigating team.
The SIT office in Gandhinagar was open on Sunday and its members were present in case Modi presented himself. SIT chief R K Raghavan was, however, out of town.
Official sources said 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 being called for questioning in connection with the riots.
Modi was summoned by the SIT in connection with a complaint filed by Zakia Jaffery, wife of murdered former Congress MP Eshan Jaffrey in the 2002 Gulburg society riot in Ahmedabad. The former Congress MP was killed along with 69 others by a mob at Gulburg society in Ahmedabad in February 2002.
The Congress criticised Modi for not appearing before the SIT, saying his action was "contemptuous" and showed that he "loves to hide".
"The SIT's direction to Narendra Modi to appear before it shows the seriousness and importance attached to the issue by the apex court," said party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi.
"For Modi to avoid appearing on any ground or pretext is contemptuous and would show that he loves to hide," he said.
BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy didn’t give a direct answer when he asked if Modi would depose before the SIT. "The government of Gujarat has made it clear that it shall act as per the law,” he said.
"This government has always supported and respected the law and will abide by it. It has the highest respect for the Supreme Court order and directions," he said.
The Supreme Court, on April 27 last year, asked the SIT to inquire into Zakia's complaint in which she has alleged Modi and 62 others, including his cabinet colleagues, police officials and senior bureaucrats aided and abetted the riots which left over 1,000 people dead.
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