This has been Modi's strongest expression of regret so far, on the Gujarat riots.  Read more...

"However, it was from these very built up emotions that I had appealed to the people of Gujarat on the day of the Godhra train burning itself; fervently urging for peace and restraint to ensure lives of innocents were not put at risk.

"I had repeatedly reiterated the same principles in my daily interactions with the media in those fateful days of February-March 2002 as well; publicly underlining the political will as well as moral responsibility of the government to ensure peace, deliver justice and punish all guilty of violence.

"You will also find these deep emotions in my recent words at my Sadbhavana fasts, where I had emphasized how such deplorable incidents did not behove a civilized society and had pained me deeply.

"In fact, my emphasis has always been on developing and emphasizing a spirit of unity; with the now widely used concept of 'my 5 crore Gujarati brothers and sisters' having crystallized right at the beginning of my tenure as CM itself from this very space.

"However, as if all the suffering was not enough, I was also accused of the death and misery of my own loved ones, my Gujarati brothers and sisters. Can you imagine the inner turmoil and shock of being blamed for the very events that have shattered you!"

Pic: People pay homage to the victims who died in the Gulberg Society killings. Courtesy: Citizens for Justice and Peace