The occasion dates back to 2007. Sunita Williams of Gujarat origin sought to visit her home state. Williams, accompanied by her father, arrived on a personal visit. The response from the then chief minister Narendra Modi was less than cordial. “Kaun Sunita (Sunita who)?” he reportedly asked, dismissing the astronaut, now showered with international acclaim. It was decided she would not be treated as a state guest.
That was the last time she visited Gujarat.
In Delhi, however, she received warmth – Sonia Gandhi had taken the time to meet Williams and extend the courtesies befitting her stature.
Modi knew Williams, having met her before as a cousin of his close confidant and former Gujarat home minister, Haren Pandya, who was two years older than Williams. He adorably called her Suni, which is her nickname.
Williams’s father Deepak Pandya and Haren Pandya’s mother were siblings from Jhulasan village in North Gujarat, home district to Modi as well.
Times were different in 2007. Haren Pandya was assassinated, and his father, Vitthalbhai Pandya, a respected entity in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), filed a petition, claiming his son’s death was politically motivated. He alleged it was done at Narendra Modi’s behest. Vitthalbhai died at 82 without any development in the Haren Pandya assassination case.
Haren Pandya’s widow Jagruti fiercely opposed Modi and fought tirelessly for justice from 2003 to 2016. In 2016, she joined the BJP and stopped giving interviews or mentioning her husband’s assassination. To digress a bit, she had hosted Williams too. In 2007, when Williams arrived in the Nehrunagar area of Ahmedabad, she garlanded a statue of Haren Pandya. Jagruti and Haren Pandya’s fans had organised the event.
The tension surrounding Haren Pandya’s death created a deeply charged political atmosphere in Gujarat.
A background here is necessary. Haren Pandya had initially aligned himself with Keshubhai Patel, Gujarat’s former chief minister. Although Patel chose Haren Pandya for the role of MLA, the latter switched his allegiance to Modi. Their bond was cemented further after Shankersinh Vaghela staged a rebellion which saw the ouster of the BJP government.
The BJP and Keshubhai returned to power in 1998. Haren Pandya was Modi’s eyes and ears in Keshubhai’s cabinet. However, things changed after Modi became Gujarat’s chief minister.
Modi wanted to contest the maiden election of his life from Haren Pandya’s constituency. Ellisbridge constituency in Ahmedabad was and remains the safest BJP seat in Gujarat. On average in every election in the last 30 years, the party has managed to garner over 73% votes in the constituency.
Haren Pandya reportedly refused to vacate his seat, taking up the issue with L.K. Advani. With tension escalating, Modi contested from Rajkot, another safe bastion. But Modi and Haren Pandya endured a fractured relationship. Amit Shah graduated to Haren Pandya’s position and ever since has remained Modi’s Man Friday.
Following the Godhra riots in 2002, it was reported that Haren Pandya opposed the bringing of bodies of the victims to Ahmedabad. He believed it would instigate communal conflict. Although it was claimed he could broker peace between the victims’ family members and Muslim leaders, some ministers drowned out his voice.
The year 2007 was significant for another episode. Outlook magazine reported that Haren Pandya had disclosed, back in May 2002, that on the night of February 27, 2002, Modi held a meeting at his residence. He allegedly instructed the bureaucrats and police officers to allow “people to vent their frustration”. He asked them to not intervene in what he called the Hindu backlash.
Haren Pandya had initially shared this information in good faith. In a follow-up conversation with the magazine on August 19, 2002, he mentioned that if his identity as the source was ever revealed, he would likely be killed. The magazine recorded the second conversation.
It must be noted that Haren Pandya testified before The Concerned Citizens Tribunal on the 2002 Gujarat riots. He had confided in this author as well. Referring to Haren Pandya’s testimony, the tribunal’s report says: “The tribunal received direct information through testimony from a highly placed source of a meeting (on February 27, 2002) where the CM, two or three senior cabinet colleagues, the Ahmedabad police commissioner, and an IG police were present. The meeting had a singular purpose: the senior-most police officials were told that they should expect a “Hindu reaction” after Godhra. They were also told they should not do anything to contain this reaction.”
Hosbet Suresh, who was a member of the tribunal, testified before it. A recording of Haren Pandya’s testimony before the tribunal exists.
On March 26, 2003, Haren Pandya stepped out of his home for his routine morning walk. He was shot dead. That Modi didn’t accord a state guest status to Williams had nothing to do with her. Her relationship with Haren Pandya was the issue.
A lot of water has proverbially flown into the Sabarmati river after 2007. Last week, Prime Minister Modi penned an emotional letter to Williams on her homecoming after spending 268 days in space. The godi media went gaga describing the letter as heart-warming and most of his andh bhakts (followers) and obviously ministers reposted it on X.
Williams, whom Modi once dismissed with a “Who’s Sunita?” jibe, has suddenly become one of India’s most celebrated daughters. In an emotionally charged note shared by space minister Jitendra Singh, Modi said, “Even though you are thousands of miles away, you remain close to our hearts. The people of India are praying for your good health and success in your mission. We eagerly await your return, and it would be a pleasure for us to host one of our most illustrious daughters. The earth has missed you.”
It wouldn’t be surprising to see her not only as Gujarat’s state guest but also of India in the coming months. This visit might not happen immediately. In politics, perception and optics, Prime Minister Modi is a master of timing. Since Gujarat will have Assembly elections in 2027, a visit in 2025 is considered too early, according to sources who know Modi closely.
Political opportunism is a common trait, but Modi excels at delivering master strokes.
Meanwhile, the Congress ignited a debate on social media, saying, “She is Haren Pandya’s cousin. Haren Pandya was the Gujarat home minister who challenged Modi, and he gave a secret deposition to Justice V.R. Krishnaiyer about Modi’s role in the Gujarat riots, following which he was murdered during a ‘Morning Walk’. There were several serial murders following Haren Pandya’s death which ended in the murder of Justice Loya.”
The Congress may not be wrong.
Deepal Trivedi is the CEO and founder editor of www.vibesofindia.com.
(This article was first published in The Wire)
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