The politics of fear has entrapped the minority community in Gujarat and other parts of the country. This cannot be wished away.
Here, what is significant is that there are 400,000 minority community voters in Varanasi. They have affirmed that the question of voting for Modi does not arise.
Their choice lies with the Congress, the Samajwadi Party or the Bahujan Samaj Party.
There may not have been any riots over the last dozen years in Gujarat. At the same time, Modi has not made a conscious effort to win over the minority community. What cannot be overlooked is that a Supreme Court- mandated Special Investigation team has absolved him of any involvement or conspiracy connected with the riots.
After a decade of scrutiny there is nothing against Modi. It is another matter that some other cases in this regard are still pending in courts.