Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), a long-time partner of the ruling UPA, on Wednesday disagreed with Rahul Gandhi's charge that Narendra Modi "abetted" the 2002 Gujarat riots. (Rahul Gandhi under attack over remarks on Sikh riots)"If the judicial system has given any pronouncement I think we ought to respect it and we need not question it further... There's no point to comment because it is for each one to give his or her version but the fact remains that perception today is important and if the judicial system has given a certain finality to any controversy, I think we should let it rest there," Praful Patel, a senior NCP leader and union minister told NDTV.The NCP leader was apparently referring to a court ruling in December that upheld a Supreme Court panel's investigation clearing Mr Modi, who is the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate.The Congress vice president had, in an interview to a private news channel on Monday, sought to draw a distinction between the Modi government's handling of the Gujarat communal riots and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that erupted after his grandmother and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards. (Rahul Gandhi under attack over remarks on Sikh riots) "The difference between the 1984 riots and the riots in Gujarat was that in 1984, the government was trying to stop the riots... in Gujarat, the opposite was the case. The government in Gujarat was actually abetting and pushing the riots further,'' Mr Gandhi had alleged."Reacting to Mr Patel's comments, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "Praful Patel is entitled to his opinion. Restorative justice is a part of the process and we should let the process go on, just hope it can be expedited."

The NCP had, in the past, expressed reservations about the possibility of elevating Mr Gandhi as the UPA's prime ministerial nominee, and Mr Patel backed Congress president Sonia Gandhi's decision not to do so. "We've always maintained we don't endorse anybody's candidate and no formal proposal has been brought to the alliance (on who is the prime ministerial candidate),'' he said.The remark comes at a time when the Congress is already battling the National Conference, its alliance partner in the Jammu and Kashmir government. The NCP has been its ruling partner in Maharashtra for over a decade, and with 48 seats at stake here in the General elections, the open differences will only raise more questions.