NEW DELHI, 21 January 2005 — Attempts made by opposition leaders to nail down Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad on the Godhra train fire report is proving counterproductive. On Monday, Justice U.C. Bannerjee submitted an interim report on the Sabarmati Express blaze at Godhra, the incident that sparked communal mayhem in Gujarat in 2002. The report states that the train fire was an accident and it was not set ablaze by a mob of Muslims.

With Bihar assembly elections due next month, the opposition leaders are making noises over the report having been deliberately released at this juncture to help Lalu in his campaign. This has prompted them to label the release of the report as well as comments made by Lalu on it as a violation of the model code of conduct.

Chief Election Commissioner T.S. Krishnamurthy, who was in Patna yesterday to review the poll preparations, warned the parties not to make political use of the Godhra report. He said: “Do not use this report for political purposes and do not give communal color to the findings of the report. If personal attacks are made on the basis of the report for taking political advantage it will invite tough action under the model code of conduct.”

Asserting that he expected all parties “to act with maturity and wisdom,” Krishnamurthy said: “The entire issue is under examination by the commission to assess whether there was any violation of the model code.” And if there is any violation of the model code, he said, “we will intervene and take stern action.” He added: “Suitable action will be taken at an appropriate time against any party or individual found guilty.”

While releasing his party’s manifesto in Patna, Lalu asserted yesterday that he had not committed any mistake by referring to the report. He said: “The commission has not put any restriction on me in this regard. I will place the report in Parliament soon. Moreover, I have not said anything on my own. I have quoted the facts from the press release issued by Justice U.C. Banerjee in New Delhi.”

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and BJP leaders can hardly be expected to agree with Lalu regarding the Godhra report. Questioning the timing of the release in his party mouthpiece “Samna,” Thackeray asked what action would the Election Commission initiate against Lalu for releasing the report just before assembly elections. He said, “When there are elections in three states, including Bihar, doesn’t the Justice Banerjee interim report on Godhra carnage violate the model code of conduct?”

Along the same line, the Bharatiya Janata Party has urged the Election Commission to take action against Lalu. BJP General Secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said: “...Lalu Prasad has violated the model code of conduct and we request the Election Commission to now proceed for action against him and his party.”

Congress and Left Front leaders are not of the same opinion as the BJP and its allies on the Godhra report. In Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s opinion, the nation has the right to know the Godhra report. Without criticizing the noise being made by the BJP against the report, he said: “I don’t want to make any major comment. But I want to say that the report has not been submitted by the Congress party. It has been submitted by a retired judge.”

On this being only an interim report, Rahul commented: “I don’t think that in the final report, he would draw a different conclusion. But the nation has a right to know the truth.”

Displaying a much more aggressive stance against the Sangh Parivar outfits, the CPI(M) said in a statement: “The interim report of the Justice U.C. Banerjee Committee probing the fire in the Sabarmati Express on Feb. 27, 2002, has nailed the lie of the Narendra Modi administration and the RSS/BJP outfits.”

The statement further said that the interim report negated the “inflammable liquid theory propagated by the Narendra Modi administration and the BJP/RSS. This was used to unleash the most barbaric state-sponsored communal genocide in Gujarat with the express purpose of sharpening communal polarization and, thus, gaining electorally.” The report has exposed the “sinister cynical recourse to vitiate communal harmony for political/electoral benefits by the RSS/BJP,” the statement said.