Civil liberty groups seek action against Modi

Mumbai, Nov 2 (UNI) With the Gujarat elections scheduled in December, a number of organisations including civil liberty groups today demanded that the Supreme Court and the Gujarat High Court must accept the Tehelka expose as evidence and prosecute the guilty.

Addressing a dharna here at the Azad Maidan, Simpreet Singh of the National Alliance of People's Movement demanded that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) must intervene and recommend action against the perpetrators of the post-Godhra genocide.

Feroze Mitibolwala, a civil rights activist said, ''The Prime Minister is unwilling to sacrifice the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government on something as esoteric as the nuclear deal, but is utterly speechless over the Tehelka expose, which has exposed the reality of the Gujarat genocide.'' Mr Mitibolwala also urged that the Union Government should issue an ordinance to suitably amend provisions of the Delhi Police Establishment Act (DPEA), which requires consent of the state government for investigating any matter by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and order that the entire matter be investigated by the CBI.

Voicing concern over the silence of the Union Government, activists urged that the principal opposition party in the Parliament, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also the ruling party in Gujarat, take moral responsibility for the crimes committed during the infamous Gujarat riots.

They also demanded that the state administration should cancel the bail of all those named in the sting, suspend the police officers involved in the riots and re-examine the proximity of all the public prosecutors and judges, who were involved in riot related cases, with BJP.

UNI