Modi's pain on the Gujarat riots is for sympathy in 2014: Sibal

By Kapil Sibal I wonder which sisters and brothers Modi was addressing when he talked about his personal pain. The sisters and brothers of those who lost their lives needed the healing touch and that too, immediately after the riots. Eleven years is too late. This pain and agony reflected in the blog is for an audience whose sympathy will be vital in May, 2014. [caption id=“attachment_1216743” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Kapil Sibal. AFP.[/caption] Where was the pain when the State of Gujarat defended those who now stand convicted? Where was the pain when affidavits about their innocence were filed in  courts? Where was the pain when lawyers were paid for defending the indefensible? Where was the pain when the State did not reach out to those who were crying for help? Where was the pain of those who were seeking justice but were left in the cold? Where was the pain when the State was collaborating with the accused to settle their affidavits, while they were being prosecuted in the Court? Pain is always heart-felt and spontaneous. Pain is an emotion that is expressed without calculation. Pain can never be a belated reaction after 11 years of silence. And a person who suffers in silence cannot remain silent for 11 years. While I do not want to be cynical in my comments, I do not want to be dishonest either. This act of liberation does not connect us with the real Modi. Modi’s riots baggage will remain. It is too late for him to express that he was shaken to the core. Had that been so, the core would have reacted in time, not a belated reaction just before the Lok Sabha elections. It is the harrowing ordeal of the victims, and not that of Modi, that needs attention. The wisdom of the scriptures should have dawned on him in 2002, not in 2013. Those who plan in solitude never suffer pain in solitude. Those who believe in Newton’s Law of Motion do not wait for 11 years to react. Good luck Mr Modi! (Reproduced from a blog post by Mr Kapil Sibal on his website.)