Congress leader backs Rahul on riots' remark

Congress leader Ambika Soni Tuesday backed party vice president Rahul Gandhi for this comments on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and contending that "the state did not act fast enough" during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

"We have heard often whether the right material has gone to the courts, because it is often said that the courts have freed leaders of the BJP in Gujarat. But we know of first-hand cases, where we felt that the state did not act either fast enough or sincerely enough," Soni said referring to Rahul Gandhi's TV interview Monday.

Gandhi had said that the Gujarat government was "actually abetting and pushing" the 2002 riots and the difference between the 1984 riots was that during the anti-Sikh riots then Congress government "was trying to stop the killing" while Modi's government was "allowing" it to happen.

Soni said in cases where the states do not act sincerely enough, it means that the state is somewhere "colluding".

"1984 (riots) has been discussed. Processes in court are still going on despite the passage of time. The prime minister has spoken in both houses of parliament in such a way that he really reached out to those who had suffered to the extent one can," she said, adding that such incidents leave an "indelible mark" on everyone's mind but people should move on.

Soni added that for the 2002 riots, an attempt has always been made to "safeguard the image of (BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra) Modi".

"Why not allow a free and frank discussion once and for all and lets see what the people have to say," she said.