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Revision as of 20:49, 23 December 2004 by Alren (talk | contribs) (Links. Sections.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Narendra Modi (born September 17, 1950) is the chief minister of the state of Gujarat in India since October 7, 2001.
He belongs to the BJP, and became the Chief Minister of Gujarat when Keshubhai Patel resigned from office following the loss of 2 Assembly bypolls and 1 Lok Sabha seat.
Godhra Incident
Modi's tenure was marred by the Gujarat Massacre in which around 1000 people, both Muslims and Hindus, lost their lives. The riots were in response to the massacre of Hindus in the town of Godhra. Over 2000 Muslims led by a local politician belonging to the Congress party forcibly stopped a passenger train and torched several compartments after locking them from the outside to prevent passengers from escaping. Dozens of Hindus, a majority of them women and children, were burnt alive in the carnage. Secular activists have alleged police complicity and participation in the subsequent rioting which saw violence by both Muslims and Hindus. About a third of the victims dies in policing firing in response to the rioting. Despite the widespread carnage not a single person has yet been convicted for the massacre, an indication of the excruciatingly slow judicial process in India. The Supreme Court of India intervened in a few high-profile cases such as the Best Bakery incident where the accused were acquitted for lack of evidence after eye-witnesses turned hostile in court.
Assasination attempts
On June 15, 2004, four Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists who were plotting to kill Modi, were shot down in an encounter by the Ahmedabad police. The four included a 19-year old girl, one Hindu-turned-Muslim, and two others based in Pakistan. Secular activists alleged that the persons killed were innocent civilians. However subsequent investigations have established that it was indeed a terrorist conspiracy, silencing the critics of the Gujarat police. The people shot down were terrorists and their accomplices, although most of the original critics have refused to acknowledge the same and continue to profess the innocence of those killed.
Challenges
Many political parties in India have asked him to resign following his inability to stop the Gujarat Massacre. But Modi has stood firm and challenged his opposers, and continues to hold power in Gujarat. In state-wide elections held recently, Narendra Modi won a landslide victory, much to the chagrin of his detractors, most of whom are self-proclaimed human-rights activists who have actively championed the cause of terrorists.