Modi not summoned by SIT March 21; will cooperate: BJP

Ahmedabad, March 22 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday said there was "no basis" fot reports that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had been summoned March 21 by a panel probing the 2002 communal riot cases and affirmed that Modi would cooperate fully with the Supreme Court-appointed panel.

"There is no basis to say that he (Modi) was summoned by the SIT (Special Investigation Team, appointed by the Supreme Court) on March 21. These are all baseless stories," senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said here.

He said the chief minister and the state government will cooperate fully with the SIT.

Jaitley said the media had been running a "wrong story" about Modi having been summoned on March 21 by SIT and mediapersons did not check facts with the SIT or the Supreme Court. "The country was misled."

Jaitley, a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat, said the petitioners who file public interest litigations and the media "have a responsibility not to interfere in the judicial process".

He said there have been attempts in the last eight years to defame the state government and Modi over the 2002 riots.

He said the media should correct the impression that Modi had avoided going before the SIT. He also released an open letter written by Modi.

Modi has been asked to appear before the SIT in connection with the case related to Congress leader Ehsan Jafri who was burnt alive in Ahmedabad's Gulbarg society during the 2002 communal riots.