MJ Akbar On Why He Joined BJP And Endorses Modi

By Niti Central

Question: India's most well-known journalist MJ Akbar is with us, editorial, written critical acclaimed books, also close to Rajiv Gandhi, contested elections one from Kishanganj in Bihar in the Lok Sabha elections of 1989. Sir you been quite supportive of the BJP recently what make you take that plunge right now?

MJ Akbar: It’s very simple, look before you get to the supportive part you know, I have also been very critical of the BJP. I have in the past particularly during the riots right been critical let's be very clear about it. First before anything else this was ten years ago during the riots that we wrote these columns and wrote these comments. I was first actually expressed my deep sense of gratitude to the Congress government over the last 10 years because this congress government has answered all the questions that have been raised about the riots.

The principal question about the right was Modi’s involvement. After all there have been riots everywhere in the country, before and after, the question was whether Narendra Modi was culpable? And this is the one question for which the Congress government did the most intense scrutiny in independent India's history, trying very hard, used CBI, used police and used every single possible medium, got quote- unquote, witnesses got quotes, got turns quote, to do what it like. And after 10 years of scrutiny all the institutions that were involved in this tremendous hunt have found that there is no way in which you can link the riots to Narendra Modi personally. The Supreme Court did it so as well. Supreme Court did its own enquiry. Supreme Court is above parties. It’s independent. It's the Guardian of the law and the constitution. We respect the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held its own form of enquiry and that also exonerated Modi.

So after ten years I have to admit that this attempt to link with personal linkages was wrong. We as journalists have no right to go around pretending as if we're holier than anyone else. We can get things wrong. It is our duty to raise questions which is what we did. And once the answers are in, you cannot now hold up somebody guilty just because the congress wants to indulge in the politics of fear. just because the congress wants to use phrases that have been used at that moment under a cloud of suspicion, but the phrases that have become irrelevant after scrutiny. So, I'm ready to admit it and I hope others will also admit as much, and now carry on and you know as I said in a metaphor, I said, you can either have eyes behind your head and keep looking at the past or you like a normal human being you can have eyes in front of your face and look at the future.............