In Advani’s case, the focus on clean politics seems like an afterthought in the wake of Anna Hazare’s campaign rather than a purposeful movement of the kind which marked the loh purush’s first rath yatra. At that time, he was leading from the front, even if to usher in a prolonged period of communal animosity. This time, he is evidently trying to jump on to Anna’a bandwagon to cash in on its success.

Modi’s case is different. Yet, even if his mea culpa is hailed as the sign of a healing touch, its honesty is in doubt. For one, he hasn’t apologized for what happened in 2002, only expressed regret. For another, it has taken him nearly a decade even to say sorry. And, for a third, the tepid expression of remorse has come only after the Supreme Court allowed the trial court in Gujarat to continue its investigations into the charges of criminal conspiracy.

Although Modi and his party welcomed the apex court’s decision, they are aware that the sword of Damocles continues to hang over their heads. This is all the more so because the appointment of an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, to oversee the SIT’s probe means that any hint of a tilt towards Modi on its part, as has been alleged, will be negated. What Modi has evidently realized is that the spectre of the riots will continue to haunt him in the foreseeable future. He has decided, therefore, to exorcise the ghost by performing a kind of havan by showing signs of repentance. What the gesture will do is to enable the BJP to rally round its “pet monster”, as Pritish Nandy once called Modi, with greater fervour than it could show till now because of his tainted image.

The tactic of shifting the focus from the riots to development has been there for quite some time. Now, it will be taken to a higher level with the intention of paving the way for Modi’s arrival on the national stage. But the problem is that the veracity of Modi’s assertion will continue to be questioned. First, his natural taciturnity and the background of a saffron hawk will make it difficult for anyone to believe that he genuinely feels the pain of the riot victims, as he claims. For a “modern-day Nero”, to quote the Supreme Court’s description of him, who had casually dismissed the riots which officially claimed more than 800 lives (the unofficial figure is much higher) as “stray incidents” in a letter to the President of India, it is not easy to pose as a bleeding heart liberal.

Secondly, the context belies his claims. Since his three-day penance in an air-conditioned hall will be seen as a throw of the dice in the race for the prime minister’s post, the contrition will be largely devoid of substance. It is precisely for this reason that the JD (U) has stayed away from the scene of the fast, for it is aware that the presence of bearded Muslims and veiled women, which has been described as unprecedented, will not be reassuring enough for the community in either Gujarat or the rest of the country. As a Muslim guest in a TV show pointed out, they are likely to remember how the BJP speakers used to ask the Muslims to leave during a rally.

Apart from the JD (U) leaders, another absentee was Haren Pandya’s widow Jagruti, who was asked by the police to stay away apparently because the memorandum she intended to submit to Modi would have spoilt the show. Pandya, it may be recalled, feared for his life after telling an unofficial probe team that the chief minister had asked the police on February 28, 2002, to let the Hindus vent their anger, the same allegation which the police officer, Sanjiv Bhatt, has levelled against Modi. And, as if to show that the fast was not all about compassion, Bhatt was charge-sheeted and the riot victims mobilized by social activist Mallika Sarabhai and lawyer Mukul Sinha for a dharna were rounded up.

But what may still queer the pitch for Modi is the attitude of the RSS. Considering that the paterfamilias of the saffron brotherhood was unhappy with the moderate Atal Behari Vajpayee for putting Hindutva in cold storage to woo the secular parties, Modi’s touchy-feely overtures to the Muslims – the aliens in Savarkar’s view and “internal threats” according to Golwalkar – are nothing short of outrageous. (IPA Service)