Watching Tehelka magazine's sting operation on the 'truth' behind the Gujarat riots on television was not comfortable for Bhartiya Janata Party leaders.
Revealing his discomfort, a party leader told rediff.com, "Let us admit it. Who would be comfortable in watching what was being shown on the channel? Time and again the same shot was being aired."
The party is trying to brush off the charges against Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
"I saw someone claim that Modi went to Naroda Patiya and patted the rioters' backs for doing a good job. When a chief minister moves his movement is recorded," said one of the party general secretaries, who would be overseeing the party's campaign in the state during the forthcoming elections in Gujarat.
Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad has asked the Election Commission to ensure that nothing is done to disturb the communal harmony on the eve of elections in the state.
"We would request the media to refrain from putting out such reports that may create tensions between Hindus and Muslims," he said, asking, "Ask Tehelka why it has not done a sting operation against a Congress chief minister?"
The saffron party also denied claims that a former Congress MP's limbs were chopped during the riots.
"He was burnt alive and his body when handed over to the family members, which clearly showed that his limbs were intact. There is lot of exaggeration in the so-called claims," another BJP leader from Bihar said.
"Opposition parties are saying that no action was taken, but Minister of State for Home Affairs Sri Prakash Jaiswal had admitted in Lok Sabha that over 250 people were killed in police firing alone out of the total of 1,000 persons killed during the riots as compared to 1984 more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in Delhi alone," Prasad said.
Meanwhile, the party has initiated action against Babu Bajrangi and Harish Bhatt for claiming that Modi had engineered the entire massacre.
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