National Democratic Alliance convener George Fernandes said on Saturday that the post-Godhra violence in Gujarat and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots could not be compared.
The Gujarat "reaction" was a spontaneous outburst following the Godhra train incident, he told reporters in Ludhiana, Punjab.
He said in Gujarat, the army was deployed as soon as the state government had asked for it whereas the same did not
happen during the Delhi riots. Also, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was not involved in the violent incidents whereas several Congressmen were directly involved in the '84 riots, Fernandes claimed.