Narendra Modi, A seasoned RSS pracharak, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is currently facing baptism by fire. Barely a few months into his first assignment as chief minister, he stands charged of mishandling one of the worst communal riots in Gujarat.

Were you playing the fiddle while Gujarat burned?
No. Contrary to what is now being projected, I brought sanity within 72 hours of the violent outbreak. It would take months before communal rioting during the previous Congress governments could be brought under control and a semblance of normalcy could be restored. This is for the first time that a communal riot has been controlled in record time.

Was the army deliberately called in late so that the police could play out its passive role?
The Godhra massacre took place on February 27. The next day I declared that army help had been requisitioned. The prime minister called a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on February 28 to take the army’s help. But that was not easy. There was no army presence in Ahmedabad because of the deployment on the borders. Next day, on March 1, shoot-at-sight orders were issued. I spoke to George Fernandes and within 16 hours the army was called in. So where is the question of any delay?

What precisely is your government’s connection with the VHP and the Bajrang Dal?
I have worked hard to raise the BJP in the state. Can I be accused of improving my party’s prospects?

Does that mean that you have played the Hindu card in an effort to boost your party’s sagging prospects in the assembly elections which is less than a year away?
There are no cards to be played. As head of this government I am impartial. I will not play the appeasement card. Everyone involved in the rioting and violence, irrespective of whichever community he belongs to, will be taken to task. A judicial inquiry is looking into the incidents and its verdict will definitely be respected.

Your impartiality was not exactly in evidence over the past few days?
In a democracy anyone can say anything. You have to remember that communalism runs high in Gujarat. If Sachin Tendulkar gets out on 90 against the Pakistani team, riots break out here. Even a small provocation can lead to violence and Godhra was a very big incident. In the 1969 riots, under the then Congress regime, curfew was imposed for 65 days in a row.

You speak about previous Congress regimes but what about your party’s claim to better governance?
We are providing better governance. But can we ignore facts? Of the 80-odd arrests so far, 65 have Congress backgrounds. The Congress is misusing the sentiments. They are alleging that the independent corporators involved in Godhra were backed by the BJP. Until now, the media has been saying that there are no Muslims with the BJP. But when it comes to this incident, my party is supposed to have backed Muslim corporators. There is a limit to double standards. In any case, corporators are not members of any party.