News magazine The Economist, in an article, has slammed BJP prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi, for his alleged role in the post-Godhra carnage. Drawing the ire of the BJP, the magazine wrote that India deserved better than Narendra Modi.

"Mr Modi's performance as chief minister of Gujarat shows that he is set on economic development and can make it happen. Mr Gandhi's coalition is tainted by corruption. By comparison Mr Modi is clean. So there is much to admire. Despite that, this newspaper cannot bring itself to back Mr Modi for India's highest office," the article read.

"We do not find the prospect of a government led by Congress under Mr Gandhi an inspiring one. But we have to recommend it to Indians as the less disturbing option," it said.

BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has told a news channel that the magazine was unaware of the ground realities.

The magazine wrote in the article that despite its admiration for the growth he impelled in Gujarat, it won't back him owing to the his dubious role in the post Godhra violence.

"The reason begins with a Hindu rampage against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, in which at least 1,000 people were slaughtered. The orgy of murder and rape in Ahmedabad and the surrounding towns and villages was revenge for the killing of 59 Hindu pilgrims on a train by Muslims.

Mr Modi had helped organise a march on the holy site at Ayodhya in 1990 which, two years later, led to the deaths of 2,000 in Hindu-Muslim clashes," the article said.

Talking about the Supreme Court-ordered probe in the riots, the magazine suspected destruction of evidence.

"The inquiries into the riots were inconclusive is that a great deal of evidence was lost or wilfully destroyed. And if the facts in 2002 are murky, so are Mr Modi's views now. He could put the pogroms behind him by explaining what happened and apologising. Yet he refuses to answer questions about them.

By refusing to put Muslim fears to rest, Mr Modi feeds them. By clinging to the anti-Muslim vote, he nurtures it," the article said.

(Read the full article)