DHAKA: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections, Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, rejected the view that he had remained silent on the February 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, which according to official figures, claimed the lives of 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus; caused injuries to about 2,500 people and reported 223 as missing.

‘I was not silent, I answered every top journalist in the country from 2002-2007, but noticed there was no exercise to understand truth,’ Modi told Smita Prakash, editor (News) Asian News International, in an exclusive interview, reports The Times of India.

He further said that he believed that unknown entities gave rise to a number of conspiracies that allegedly linked him to the tragedy.

‘I have said what I had to say. Now, I am in the people’s court, and I am waiting to hear from them, and their verdict,’ Modi said when prodded further on his role in the 2002 riots.

He maintained that he was committed to democracy, and added that ‘if the media had not worked to malign Modi, then who would known about Modi today?’

BDST: 1722 HRS, APR 16, 2014