The Communist Party of India, Marxist, on Wednesday deplored the remarks made by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Tuesday that the Muslim community had not sufficiently condemned the Godhra massacre.
The party accused him of 'echoing' the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad line on the Gujarat incidents.
"Does the prime minister seriously believe that condemnation alone [which actually did take place] would have restrained the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal mobs from resorting to the carnage which took place?" the CPI-M politburo asked in a statement issued in New Delhi.
It said such a stance from the prime minister was equivalent to condemning the entire community for the crime committed by a few and will be seen as a justification for the 'mass killings' of minorities in the state.
The CPI-M also said the Bharatiya Janata Party cannot escape the responsibility to bring to justice all those who indulged in mass killings and serious crimes in the state during and after the Godhra incident.
Meanwhile, Vajpayee's comments also came under severe attack from the Opposition, which accused him of attempting to raise 'divisive issues' and toeing the RSS-VHP line on Gujarat violence.
Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi criticised the prime minister's statement and said it was strange to ask the entire community to repent for the criminal acts of individuals.