New Delhi, Nov 10 — Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has revisited the horrors of the 2002 Gujarat riots, recalling that she was "haunted by misery" upon meeting the victims and blamed the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi-led state administration for "failing to respond".
In her memoir "Belonging: A Journey of Love", released on Tuesday, the then-Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha described travelling to Ahmedabad as part of an all-party parliamentary delegation, visiting relief camps housing survivors, and witnessing the physical and emotional devastation inflicted on families caught in the violence.
"When I was leader of the opposition in Parliament, I met the victims of many tragedies, and each time I was haunted by the misery I had witnessed. In 2002 the state of Gujarat was ravaged by communal riots; much of the carnage was televised live with the advent of cable TV and shook the country with its fearsome images. The riots were triggered when four coaches of the Sabarmati Express were set on fire and fifty-nine pilgrims died. The train was returning to the state capital Ahmedabad from Ayodhya carrying Hindu kar sevaks-volunteers for the Ram temple," she wrote in her book.
Gandhi also recalled watching television reports of the violence with disbelief and horror, while attempting to reach Congress colleagues in Gujarat who were calling for assistance.
"The cause of the fire remains disputed, but the turmoil that followed spread to many parts of the state, and the victims were overwhelmingly Muslims. We watched the live reports in horror, and tried to get help to our colleagues in Gujarat who were calling us in desperation, but the administration failed to respond," she added.
"The riots were said to have been fuelled by a fanatical fringe of the BJP and RSS, the Bajrang Dal. The chief minister of the state at the time was Narendra Modi," Gandhi wrote in her memoir.
She further recounted her experience of meeting the "survivors of the massacre" at relief camps in Gujarat.
"After the meeting, we were herded into a bus 'for security reasons', then taken to some of the relief camps housing the survivors of the massacre. It was in one of the camps crowded by traumatised men, women, and children squatting in a makeshift hall that the most wrenching moment came for me," she said.
The Congress leader recalled that inside that camp, a child appeared physically weakened, with a gaunt face and a dazed expression. The father held her up before the visiting politicians and pleaded with them to look at what had happened to his daughter.
"Here, this is my child-take a look at her, take a good look. The rakshasas (demons) raped her again and again," he told the delegation, as per Gandhi's account.
The man then broke down, asking the visitors what he could possibly do to help his daughter and pleading for someone to intervene.
According to Gandhi's memoir, the man then said: "Main kya karun, kya karun? Kuch karo, kuch karo."
"We were shattered. I stood in a state of stupor, gripped by horror and unable to speak or react beyond a few mumbled words of sympathy," she expressed.
The Congress leader said that then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was "widely expected to dismiss Chief Minister Modi, but it's said that pressure from within his party compelled him to desist".
"There was an international outcry, and the governments of the US, UK, and some European countries declared in 2005 that they would not grant the Gujarat chief minister a visa. Twelve years later, they would all felicitate him when he became prime minister of India," Gandhi wrote.