Former chief minister Suresh Mehta has said that chief minister Narendra Modi should depose before the Nanavati-Mehta commission, which is probing the Godhra riots case of 2002.
He expressed his astonishment at the plea that Modi should not be called before the commission for cross-examination. “This is very strange. Even the advocate general has made a plea to this effect,” he said.
“The very purpose of the commission is to find out the truth. Since Narendra Modi was at the helm of affairs at the time of riots, he is in the know of many things and there can be no better witness than him. He should himself come forward to throw light on the happenings to help the commission arrive at a conclusion. If I were in his position, I would have been ready even to undergo narco test to let the truth come out,” Mehta told DNA in a telephonic talk from Delhi on Wednesday. Incidentally, Mehta hails from Kutch.
Describing the ongoing controversy on whether Modi should be cross-examined, as unnecessary, Mehta, who began his career as a judge, recalled that the Nanavati commission was constituted by Modi himself. It was he (Modi) who, by an amended notification in July 2004, directed that the role of all ministers, including the chief minister, be also examined. “This being the case, Modi should not have any hesitation in deposing before the commission,” Mehta said.
He, however, felt that the abovementioned enlargement of the commission’s ambit of inquiry was politically motivated, as the BJP-led NDA govt at the Centre had been defeated at the hustings. Modi feared dismissal of his government by the new UPA government and hence, in a bid to avert that, enlarged the scope of inquiry.
He said that if sincere efforts to bring out the truth are not made by the commission, then the probe would not only be a waste of time and money but a great mockery of the rule of law.
