BJP uses govt data to defend Modi

The BJP on Thursday sought to defend the Narendra Modi government against charges of "genocide" and said the killing of 254 Hindus, mostly in firing, showed how the state authorities took "effective steps" to check the violence.

In a written reply, Minister of State for Home Affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal had informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that 254 Hindus and 790 Muslims were killed in Gujarat in the 2002 riots.

"Sonia Gandhi in her poll campaigns had termed the violence as a genocide. While any casualty is unfortunate, the figures given by the government in Parliament does not constitute any genocide, like the manner in which millions of Jews were killed," BJP spokesman VK Malhotra said today.