Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on September 26 said that there was no "communal backlash" after the terrorist attack on the Swaminarayan temple due to the changed stance of the "pseudo secularists" who had been responsible for the post- Godhra violence.

Asked at a press conference here as to why he thought that Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) sponsored Bandh passed off peacefully unlike the February 28 Bandh which was marred by indiscriminate killings and arson against minorities, Modi said, "Thanks to the pseudo secularists, this time they have not used abusive language against a particular community (majority) like they used during Godhra."

"And in the process they helped me in maintaining peace in the state," he said, adding that bandh on September 26 was peaceful across Gujarat barring the stray stabbing incidents in Surat.

Modi also took a dig at "pseudo secularists" while answering a question on the identical letters found with the militants.

"These letters, aimed only to mislead investigations, have made some people happy to spread their theories. It is the same group of people who are spreading rumours that the militants were speaking Gujarati while entering the temple premises," he added.

PTI