Letter to Congress Workers

I am anguished and pained at the carnage at Godhra first and the subsequent genocide in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Surat and other places in the land of the Mahatma. Gujarat is a symptom of a deeper malaise afflicting India. That disease is called the politics of hate. The traumatic events in Gujarat have demeaned us as civilized human beings, as citizens of a modern progressive, liberal society with a cherished heritage of living together in a spirit of amity and friendship. The guilty must not be spared the punishment they deserve. We must unite to ensure that peace returns to Gujarat and that such incidents do not take place elsewhere at any time.

I visited the affected areas in Godhra and Ahmedabad as a member of the all-Party delegation. Words are too inadequate to express our horror at what we saw. These brutalities were committed under the very eyes of the state government, whose complicity has been thoroughly exposed. The Union Home Minister gave the state government a clean chit and congratulated himself for bringing the situation under control speedily. He did so on 1st March at 5.30 p.m - when Gujarat was burning.

The state government has been guilty of dereliction of its Constitutional duties and obligations. The continuance of such an irresponsible and callous government is an affront to our democracy.

The Central government’s acts of omission and commission in handling the situation in Ayodhya caused by the actions of the VHP is shameful, to say the least. Despite all our warnings on the build-up of tensions in Ayodhya, these were allowed to grow. At the all-Party meeting convened by the Prime Minister on 26th February on our initiative, the attitude of the Prime Minister and his Home Minister was shockingly casual.

It now transpires that while the people were made to believe that the Prime Minister and his government were neutral in regard to the proposed VHP plan, the Prime Minister was instructing his Attorney-General to plead for that very plan in the court.

The recent Budget is full of tokenisms. The government claims that the economic fundamentals are sound. How can it say so? For four long years there has been a deceleration in growth, slowdown in industry and famine in investment. The employment scene has never been so grim.

With every passing day, the BJP-led government’s total ineptitude, shocking insensitivity and blatant support to bigoted forces stand exposed. The consequences are being borne in a most tragic manner by our people.

Our people yearn for peace and harmony, our people yearn for security, for a life of dignity, our people yearn for a life of prosperity and well-being. This government has betrayed their hopes and their expectations. This government has failed the nation.