Amit Shah, the union home minister, claimed on Friday that violent criminals had previously attacked people in Gujarat because the Congress had given them support, but that after they were “taught a lesson” in 2002, they stopped their crimes and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had established “permanent peace” in the state.
Shah, while speaking at a rally in Mahudha town of Kheda district in favour of BJP candidates ahead of the Assembly elections next month, claimed “Communal riots were common in Gujarat before 1995, when the Congress was in power. Congress used to push individuals from various ethnicities and castes to attack one another. Through such disturbances, Congress increased its vote bank while inflicting injustice on a significant segment of society.”
In an apparent comment directed against Muslims, Shah asserted that Gujarat saw “riots” in 2002 because offenders were accustomed to engaging in violence as a result of the Congress’s continued support.
Following the train burning event at Godhra railway station in February 2002, parts of Gujarat experienced widespread anti-Muslim rioting.
The Union Home Minister’s comments sparked a furore online.
Mahua Moitra, a Member of parliament in the from Krishnanagar, West Bengal took to Twitter and criticised the Home Minister’s comments.