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Modi denies making provocative statements

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has denied that he or any of his colleagues made any provocative statements that helped in spreading the violence across the state.

The opposition parties led by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who met the President K R Narayanan on Friday, had alleged that some statements of Modi had encouraged hooligans to go on rampage in the state.

"This charge is totally baseless. I am the chief minister of Gujarat and I am committed to maintain law and order in the state. Neither I nor any of my colleagues has made any statement, which helped in spreading the violence in the state," Modi told rediff.com on phone from his residence in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

He accused the television channels of deliberately playing up the pictures of violence.

He also denied that 30 people were burnt alive in Panchmahal near Godhra on Friday.

"This is a malicious report that has been put out by the television channels," he said.

According to Modi eight people were killed in violence, while the television channels had pegged the toll at thirty.

When asked if he was transferring the Godhra case to Central Bureau of Investigation for probe, Modi said that he has already announced a judicial probe into the incident.

"We have written to the Chief Justice of the high court to name a retired judge to head judicial probe into the whole episode," Modi said.

He claimed that the situation in the state was now normal.

"Ninty percent of the state is normal. The other 10 per cent would also be soon brought under control. After the deployment of the army violence has abated in the state," he said.

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