Guj govt calls verdict historic, Cong calls it shocking

Gujarat government today welcomed the verdict of the metropolitan magistrate's court here which rejected the protest petition of Zakia Jafri against the SIT's clean chit to Chief Minister Narendra Modi, calling it "a historic verdict on truth and justice".
Opposition Congress, however, said it was a shocking ruling.
"We welcome the verdict...Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been given a complete clean chit by the judiciary. The court has accepted the closure report of the Supreme Court- appointed and monitored Special Investigation Team. This is a historic verdict on truth and justice," a statement by Gujarat government spokespersons Nitin Patel and Saurabh Patel said.

It said Narendra Modi and his government had been well-meaning and effective in handling the post-Godhra riots.
Congress called it shocking. "The judgement of metropolitan magistrate in one of century's worst acts against humanity is shocking," a statement by Gujarat Congress said.
In a huge relief to Narendra Modi ahead of the general elections, an metropolitan court here today accepted the SIT's closure report giving clean chit to him in the 2002 Gujarat riots while rejecting a protest petition, the only lawsuit which accused the BJP's prime ministerial nominee of complicity in the riots.