SIT report: How many 'clean chits' and 'setbacks' for Modi?

How many times will the media give the ‘clean chit’ to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi? Indeed how many times will it announce ‘setback’ for him? Anything the courts pronounce in relation to many of the Gujarat riot cases is quickly interpreted either as ‘clean chit’ or ‘setback’ for him. Even Modi would be tired of it now.

As a magisterial court announced today that the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) has found no evidence against the chief minister in the Gulburg society carnage, television channels were back to announcing victory for him. The SIT’s closure report says that there was no evidence against all the 58 accused in the case. Modi topped the list of the accused.

Why the hurry? The case is set for a long haul. The SIT’s report is one of the documents to be considered by the court among many others during the hearing. Moreover, the case would travel through the high court to the Supreme Court before it comes to a conclusion. More evidence could surface during the trial to weaken the case of either of the sides. In any case, absence of evidence does not exactly mean clean chit.

The lawyers of Modi will need to contend with the report of Supreme Court’s amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran who finds several discrepancies in the SIT report, particularly the inferences it draws from the evidence it considered. Ramachandran’s report says there is prosecutable evidence against Modi. If this is part of the annexures of the SIT report to be given to complainant Zakia Jaffri, then she is legally entitled to appeal against the SIT’s closure report.

“…If the SIT has found no evidence against the accused, the complainant in law has a right to file a protest petition in court not to accept the closure report. The court will then consider that protest petition, apply its mind and then decide whether to close the report or not,” said Ramchandran, according to an NDTV report .

Whatever the case, there’s no chance of the legal troubles for Modi ending anytime soon. He will keep getting good news and bad news through the entire course of the charge against him. This being the case, why jump to ascribe him victories and defeats so fast? Cannot media judgments wait? This is unfair on Modi himself and on the riot victims too.

Well, the media’s reaction has more to with Modi’s politics than the riots. Many in the media perceive that he has already lost the perception war in the Gujarat riots case. Any positive verdict for him in the end is not likely change the negative perception around him outside Gujarat – yes, he remains a powerful leader on home turf but is yet to be considered as a leader of national stature with pan-Indian acceptability.

But he has proved himself a capable administrator and a good bet to lead the country which lacks strong and purposeful leaders at the moment. On his part, he has been playing the development card well. His party willing, he could be the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 general election. So any damage to his image from 2002 riot cases needs to be undone quickly. Another section of the media would like to see him punished for the riots.

It does not quite perceive him to be a complete leader since he has been singularly incapable of carrying the entire section of the population in Gujarat on the path of development. It points out that most victims of the riots lead a ghettoised existence and he is still unable to be comfortable with the Muslim community in public. Moreover, his style of leadership is autocratic and it won’t work in the coalition politics at the national level. This section would love to find quick setbacks for him.

Whatever the case, Modi continues to polarise the media and its reaction. Quick judgements about him only show the media in a bad light.