Kodnani conviction shows rule of law in Gujarat: BJP

Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday broke its silence on the 28-year sentence awarded to the party's Gujarat legislator Maya Kodnani, saying the conviction was proof of the existence of rule of law in the state.

"The sentencing shows there exists rule of law in Gujarat. It proves the judiciary has the independence to make its decisions," BJP national spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said.

"When a riot is attributed to the BJP, it is always called communal but when parties like Congress or the Samajwadi Party indulge in riots, then they are said to be secular riots," he added.

Maya Kodnani was sentenced to 28 years in jail for her involvement in the Naroda Patiya riots.

Kodnani was sentenced to 28 years in jail for her involvement in the Naroda Patiya riots where 97 Muslims were killed, during the post-Godhra violence that erupted in Gujarat in 2002.

The BJP had earlier downplayed Kodnani's conviction as being a "legal process", saying it was just the decision of a lower court.

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