New Delhi. During the Gujarat election campaign, the opposition tried to corner the BJP over the remark made by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah in his election speech regarding the 2002 Gujarat riots, which was a “lesson to teach”. A complaint about this comment was sent to the Election Commission. Now the Election Commission has clarified that Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remark to ‘teach a lesson’ is not a violation of the code of conduct. After perusing the report of the State Chief Electoral Officer and taking legal opinion, the EC concluded that the reference to action against ‘miscreants’ was not in violation of the provisions of the Election Code. During an election rally in Gujarat, Shah had said that the perpetrators of the 2002 violence had been “taught a lesson”.
Let us tell you that a former bureaucrat had approached the Election Commission last month regarding this statement of the Home Minister. At the rally, Shah had alleged, “During the Congress rule in Gujarat (before 1995), there used to be large-scale communal riots.” Congress used to incite people of different communities and castes to fight against each other. Through such riots, the Congress strengthened its vote bank and did injustice to a large section of the society. ‘Avoided indulging in violence from 2002 to 2022’ Shah had claimed that the 2002 riots in Gujarat took place because the conspirators got used to violence due to the prolonged support they got from the Congress.
Significantly, during an election rally in Kheda, Gujarat, the Union Home Minister had said, “But after being taught a lesson in 2002, these elements left that path (of violence). He refrained from engaging in violence from 2002 to 2022. BJP has established lasting peace in Gujarat by taking strict action against those involved in communal violence. In 2002, after a train fire at Godhra railway station in Gujarat, there was large-scale violence in some parts of the state. It may be known that the BJP got 156 seats in the 182-member Gujarat assembly with 52.5 percent votes. The main opposition Congress was reduced to 17 seats with 27 per cent votes, while AAP got five seats with around 13 per cent votes.