Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit back at critics and NGOs making an issue of the judgment in the Best Bakery case by urging President A P J Abdul Kalam to direct 'compilation of communal clashes' across the country since Independence to 'expose the vested interests' behind the campaign 'to malign Gujarat'.

"These groups (NGOs and human rights bodies) do not even hesitate to point fingers at the judiciary and even cast aspersions on a judicial commission headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court that is looking into all aspects of the (post-Godhra) communal riots," Modi said in his letter.

"They cannot even wait for the inquiry commission's report," he said.

Taking strong exception to 'Gujarat being singled out' as far as communal violence is concerned, Modi said, "Group clashes and communal clashes have occurred in many parts of the country and Gujarat is no exception. Why do these so-called champions of human rights focus only on Gujarat?"

He alleged that rights groups were 'all out to malign Gujarat's and the nation's image with the help of a section of a media'.

The chief minister urged Kalam to direct compilation of the 'number of registered cases of terrorist and extremist attacks, group clashes and communal violence, number of cases in which charge sheets were filed, number of those cases wherein the governments withdrew the cases even after filing of charge sheet and the acquittal rate'.

Modi drew the President's attention to the 'equally serious issue of some external forces and non-government organisations trying to raise issues related to Gujarat at international forums', which he said, 'were being done on the pretext of expressing concern at stray incidents (of violence) in Gujarat'.

"It is high time citizens of the country stand up and uphold the truth," Modi said.

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