New Delhi, Apr 2 (PTI) : The RSS has strongly come out in defence of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, recently questioned by the SIT in a 2002 riot case, and accused a section of the media and ''Left-Islamist activists'' of demonising him for their ''vested interests''.
"Demonising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is a favourite pastime of a section of the media and pro-Islamist activist groups. It is a hugely profitable business.
"They are flooded with awards, rewards and funds from within the country and across the globe. This has invariably promoted the flourish of anti-Modi campaign," an editorial in the Sangh mouthpiece 'Organiser' said.
It said a section of the media and the "Left-Islamist activists" want to deny Modi "his legitimate place in politics and history" despite the fact that Gujarat is the top investor destination and the only state which has ensured that health services, water and electricity reach every village.
"Muslims (there) get the best opportunity and are better off than they are in so-called cradles of Left-Islamist politics, say Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh or West Bengal," it said.
Claiming that Modi was on "trial" for the last eight years by "this committed bunch of bullies", the editorial reminded that he has won two assembly and as many Lok Sabha elections during the period.
Accusing the media of adopting double standards, the journal said while the recent riots in Bareilly were "persistently" suppressed, the media continues "crying hoarse" on the Gujarat riots. "The people who do not see anything wrong with the Congress hobnobbing with Raza Khan (whom RSS accused of spreading communal tension) in Bareilly, created such a ruckus when Varun Gandhi made an election speech in Pilibhit last year, which did not create any tension anywhere in the country," it said.
Continuing its attack on Congress, it said, "If Modi is culpable because he was Chief Minister at the time of the riots in 2002, why is the media not holding the late Rajiv Gandhi responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom, which by all records was more widespread, bloody, brutal and planned -- and Rajiv Gandhi even tried to justify and made political capital?"