Kodnani case to become a political issue

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Minister for Higher Education Maya Kodnani on Friday resigned from the Narendra Modi Cabinet after the Gujarat High Court cancelled her bail in the infamous Naroda Naroda Gaam and Naroda Patiya riots cases during the 2002 Gujarat carnage.

Kodnani is the first political casualty since Gujarat 2002. While the Congress says many more need to be brought to book, for the victims - the wheels of justice have started moving at last.

Convicted in the Naroda Patia massacre, Kodnani now faces arrest after the Special Investigation Team probing the post-Godhra riots got her bail cancelled.

On the eve of the crucial Lok Sabha elections Kodnani's case could add to the Bharatiya Janata Party's woes.

"This was coming because slowly, slowly the crimes in Gujarat will unravel before the people of this country," says Congress leader Kapil Sibal.

Forced to resign, Kodnani is likely to be moving the Supreme Court to get her bail extended.

However, for the victims of some of the worst communal violence seen in the country, the cancellation of bail is a straw of hope in their long wait for justice.

"We have got justice after seven years. This should happen regularly in India," says a riot victim. "Now I feel that justice is still alive and it will remain so," adds a victim.

"Eight of my family members died but only seven deaths have been reported. Maya ben incited the mob to kill us. I asked her why are you doing this to us. After seven years we have got justice," says another one of the survivors.

"I thought there was no secularism or justice but today my faith has been reinstated," adds another.

However, Kodnani's lawyers say the eyewitnesses have been giving contradictory statements to the investigators.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, though, is known to convert adversity into an opportunity.

In 2002, he used Godhra for electoral mileage while in 2007, Sonia Gandhi's maut ka saudaagar (merchants of death) remark gave him an easy political weapon.

There are many within the BJP who feel that Modi magic will once again rise to the challenge.

"Since she had been pronounced guilty by the Honourable High Court so the party asked her to resign," points out BJP spokesperson Balbir Punj.

The case is concerned with delivering justice to the horrendous 2002 communal riots. But with elections round the corner it is bound to become a political issue.

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)

#Gujarat riots #2002 riots #Maya Kodnani #Narendra Modi