Can Godhra abort Missile Modi?

AHMEDABAD: The Congress has said sorry for the anti-Sikh riots. L K Advani has regretted the Babri demolition. The Congress has also said sorry that it could not prevent Advani���s army from doing what it did in Ayodhya. Will Narendra Modi ever say sorry for Godhra? Unlikely, if you understand the persona of Modi which is built on machoism of a stubborn kind. He has walked out of television studios when needled about Godhra.

At this stage in his political career, he would not like to be remembered for the massacres seven years back. That is a dark chapter in history which, he feels, Muslims should forgive, forget and move on with their lives, even as the Supreme Court directly drives the process of justice. The news that the Supreme Court has ordered the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe Modi���s role in the Gulbarg Society massacre is seen as a step in that process of justice, which Modi is dismissing as a ���Congress conspiracy���.

Many of his opponents believe that the solution to the Modi problem is legal, not political. After the state government-appointed commission headed by Justice (retd) Nanavati gave a clean chit to Modi, before even completing the investigations, faith of Gujarati Muslims in the SC-driven SIT has only been reinforced.

The legal issue has the potential of derailing Modi���s political flight at some point in his career. Politically, he realises that he would probably become a prime minister, if at all, in an era of coalition politics where it would be hard to find allies who are idealogically compatible. During this campaign, wherever he felt there were substantial number of Muslim voters, he has raised the Sachar Committee report which has clearly stated that financially Muslims were better off in Gujarat than anywhere else.

Besides, he quotes the committee���s data on how Muslims have more bank accounts in Gujarat, their savings are higher and there are more Muslims in police and government service. This pitch is a far cry from the Miyan Musharraf and Sohrabuddin speeches, in 2002 and 2007 respectively, where he ranted against these hated symbols to give a larger message.

Over the years, Modi has got the Shia Muslims ��� mainly Bohras and Khojas ��� on his side. Both are Gujarat-based business communities and their wealth contributes positively to the Sachar statistics.

Even among Sunnis, there are voices of support coming from quarters who are opposed to the hardline Tablighis. There is a keen tussle going on between the hardline and moderate Sunnis for control of mosques across Gujarat, like elsewhere in the country, and the chief minister is known to have provided the government���s support to the moderates.

While his effort is of course to wean away the moderates from the radicals, it is not the Muslim numbers which worry Modi much. The perception that he is anti-Muslim does. And he has tried to change that. One may argue that Gujarat DGP Shabbir Khandwawala���s appointment just a couple of months back may be cosmetic.

But that came on the back of a strong participation from Islamic countries at the Vibrant Gujarat summit in January. The difference is they were here to do business, not politics.