Riots case: BJP hails court verdict, Congress says still open

NEW DELHI: The clean chit to Narendra Modi by a Gujarat court in the 2002 riots case was hailed by the BJP as a moral victory while Congress said the option of legal recourse was still open and the Left termed it as unfortunate.

Welcoming the court's order, BJP targetted Congress, saying it was trying to trap Modi in a criminal case as it could not fight him politically.

"The court's verdict has established again that the truth holds together, falsehood falls apart...allegations were levelled (against Modi) out of political malafide, but falsehood can never substitute itself for truth.

"I have no hesitation in saying that Congress and its friend NGOs knew that they cannot fight Modi politically in Gujarat. That is why they decided to target him using malicious publicity, CBI and judicial process... We consider the verdict a moral victory for Modi and our party," Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said here.

"Congress' attempts to implicate Modi in three cases have failed," he said, referring to 2002 riots cases besides fake encounter cases of Sohrabuddin and Ishrat Jahan.

Congress said the court's decision on Modi was a judicial procedure where option of legal recourse was still open.

"It is a legal procedure. All legal options are still open to the complainant. It is totally misleading and wrong for the BJP to treat as a last word on judicial findings or as a vindication," said senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

The Left termed the Metropolitan court's ruling as "unfortunate".