PM Modi, Union ministers watch The Sabarmati Report in Parliament
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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with other Central ministers, watched the ‘Sabarmati Report’ at the Parliament and after the show, he wrote on X that he commented on the makers of the movie, PTI reported.
‘The Sabarmati Report’ claims to reveal the truth behind the fire incident in Sabarmati Express at Godhra, in Gujarat, on February 27, 2002, killing 59 devotees returning from Ayodhya after pilgrimage. Also, it was Modi who was then Chief Minister of Gujarat, and he was entwined in an enormous row for the inability to contain the communal violence that broke out after the train incident. Modi himself and 63 others, including powerful politicians, were accused of a larger conspiracy in a court case linked with the riots that happened in Gujarat following the Godhra incident and was given a clean chit in 2022.
The ruling BJP has actively promoted the movie, with many of its state governments making it tax-free.
PM Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat at the time of the incident, which was followed by communal riots, and the state police had blamed a Muslim mob for setting some of the train coaches on fire. Many accused chargesheeted by the police were later convicted in court.
On Monday, Modi watched the movie at the Balyogi Auditorium in Parliament along with Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Jitan Ram Manjhi, a BJP ally, among others. The audience included actor Jeetendra, whose daughter Ekta Kapoor is one of the producers. Raashii Khanna and Vikrant Massey, who donned the central characters in the film, were also present at the show. Khanna said that Modi told them that it was the first film he watched after he became the Prime Minister.
The incident triggered a major political row as an enquiry commission constituted by the then railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, a Congress ally, claimed that the fire was an accident.
The Gujarat High Court had, however, quashed its findings and termed the commission unconstitutional.
