Saturday, May 14 2005 16:35 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Former Gujarat Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari, who had created a political flutter by criticising Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership for failure to control the post-Godhra violence, today (May 14, 2005) spoke in contradictory terms saying on the one hand that the riots were "neither engineered nor a blot" but at the same time suggested an inquiry into the events.

He said that the riots were a "spontaneous reaction" to the Godhra train incident in which 58 'Ram Sevaks' were killed and the "delay" in the administration's response was a "question of judgement" as "it was not deliberate".

The 84-year-old BJP veteran, who was Governor during the riots, said that the first day's "reaction could be understood, as most of the corpses (of Godhra) were passing through Ahmedabad and there was a provocation".

Asked about his demand for a "thorough" probe, he said, "It should be found out where the lacunae was. Whether the Administration was unprepared or there was lack of information or whether there was a time gap and whether pre-emptive steps could be taken"

Seeking to defend the Chief Minister, he said, "Modi was in the midst of the whole thing, controlling the situation. The delay was a question of judgement. There was nothing deliberate. Even the delay could have been forethought. Without any evidence you cannot blame it on somebody. Only after an inquiry can it be said."