On July 14, railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav announced in Parliament that he would order a probe into the Godhra train fire in which 59 passengers died. Opposition members protested. They rushed to the well of the House. Why?
They alleged that Laloo himself was tainted. Right. They alleged that he was motivated and ordered the probe to harass BJP leaders. Right. They alleged that he did it because of the impending Bihar state assembly elections. Right. They said the probe therefore should be scuttled. Wrong.
The issue is not Laloo Yadav's probity or motives. The issue is the need to find out what happened on the Sabarmati Express near Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002. Laloo and Kapil Sibal are now reeling out facts that were known in 2002 to justify the probe. In 2002, they remained mute. But their sins of omission do not justify crimes of commission remaining uncovered.
Three months after the Godhra burning (Outlook, May 27, '02), this column raised questions. Why did the government immediately claim the carnage was pre-planned—even naming the ISI provocateur—to claim later it was spontaneous? Investigation of the Gujarat riot killings by teams of impeccable experts concluded that they were pre-planned. If they were pre-planned, how could the incident igniting them be spontaneous? This column named BJP ministers identified by IB for complicity in the Gujarat riots. Recently the PA of one named minister was arrested for involvement in the riots.
Six months after the Godhra burning (Outlook, August 26, '02), this column reported the findings of the Ahmedabad-based Forensic Science Laboratory. FSL conducted intensive experiments to prove that setting fire to the train could only have been an inside job. The doors of the burnt coach, S-6, were bolted. How could Muslims enter through the adjacent coach, S-7, full of kar sevaks? The majority of the victims were neither reserved passengers nor kar sevaks. Who were they? Even today the police cannot furnish an authentic list of victims.
Despite this information, Laloo, Kapil Sibal and their colleagues remained silent. The national media remained mostly silent. Now the government wants to act. We should encourage it. Let it expose the Opposition. We should encourage the Opposition to raise the Telgi scam, exposing the government. When politicians, like thieves, fall out, encourage them to destroy each other as swiftly as possible. The public should remain impartial. It should hasten the destruction of such a ruling class. Only if its culture dies will India live.
(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)
