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We have no such tape: Gujarat official

By Manas Dasgupta

GANDHINAGAR Sept. 19. A casual remark by the Gujarat State Cabinet spokesperson, Purshottam Rupala, about the tape containing the objectionable remarks by the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, against the minorities has created confusion in the State Home Department.

Even while Mr. Rupala had said on Wednesday that the Government would give the tape if anyone asked for it, a senior Home Department official maintained that it possessed no such tape and that there was no question of submitting it to the National Commission for Minorities, which had asked for the text of Mr. Modi's speech at Becharaji during the first leg of his `gaurav rath yatra'.

Mr. Rupala claimed today that he had been misquoted.

He claimed that what he had told a section of the press was that the Government had nothing to hide and if it had a tape it would have no objection giving it to anyone asking for it.

A senior Home Department official also reiterated that the Government was still to lay its hands on any such "tape".

Asked about a tape that was reported to have found its way to a private television channel confirming Mr. Modi's remarks on "hum paanch, hamare pachchees'' apparently hitting out at the minorities, the official said its "authenticity'' was being checked. He also denied that the transfers of the top officials of the intelligence department had anything to do with the alleged "leakage'' of the tape to the TV channel.

The transfers were for "administrative reasons,'' he claimed though admitting that R.B. Shreekumar was brought as the chief of the intelligence department only in April and it was too early to shift him in "routine course.''

The NCM had asked the Home Department for the text of Mr. Modi's speech at Becharaji where he reportedly made remarks against "population explosion" among the minorities and had wondered whether the State Government should run the riot relief camps to serve as the "breeding grounds.''

Though Mr. Modi denied that his remarks were directed against the minorities, the NCM is far from being satisfied.

UNI reports:

The Gujarat Governor, Sundersingh Bhandari, today denied that he had called for the tapes of Mr. Modi.

In a release issued here today, Mr. Bhandari said that during his visit to a religious place, Shirdi, in Maharashtra, there was no talk about the controversial tapes or Gujarat `gaurav rath yatra'.

He also said that all the reports published in this connection were baseless and false.

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