Haridwar:
Narendra Modi, who has carefully side-stepped all questions on the 2002 Gujarat riots in his blitz of public appearances recently, pointed out in Haridwar today that there had been no riot in his state for the last 12 years.
The Gujarat Chief Minister chose a gathering of religious men at yoga teacher Baba Ramdev's ashram to talk about inclusive governance saying, "After the 2002 elections I said that people who voted for me are mine, people who did not vote for me are mine, and people who abstained from voting are also mine."
He made no direct reference to the post-Godhra violence in which over 1000 people, mostly Muslims, died, but said, "My manifesto is everyone should be healthy and welfare for all. In Gujarat (where) riots happened every other day and innocents were killed, today after 12 years there is not a sign of riots." The communal riots had taken place during Mr Modi's first term in office.
A few months after the riots, Mr Modi had won the Assembly elections in Gujarat, the first in three straight, big wins. The third came in December last year.
Mr Modi is now vying to be declared the BJP's prime ministerial nominee for the 2014 general elections. But an important ally of his party, Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United), has said he will end his partnership with the BJP if that happens. Mr Kumar says the communal riots of 2002 prove that Mr Modi lacks "secular credentials."