The picture is far more complicated. The London riots did not involve mass murder, therefore heavy force was not justified. Gujarat riots of 2002 were appalling; unlike some here, I make no excuses. The riots were appalling enough for the PM to publicly admonish Modi, who was then just a medium level politician. This particular fact, almost every time, goes uncontested simply because no easy explanation can be given for A B Vajpayee's anger. Surely, if you claim that Modi did all that he could, then ABV as PM would have no particular reason to be upset over his own party man's behaviour?
A lot of facts lie buried & will probably remain buried. Too many police officers have accused the Gujarat government of inaction/complicity & it won't be easy to tarnish all of them as being agents of Congress. However much one may wish to forget this particular blot on our country, it will be one that will always rankle many including myself that innocent fellow Indians were killed (irrespective of their religion) with so much impunity & that the Chief minister under whose watch the events happened still does not see fit to express remorse for those events. Modi culpability or the lack of it will never be proved but the failure to control the situation & therefore bearing responsibility as the leader of the state is indisputable. Modi will forever be tarnished by those events. It is undisputed that Modi's election victory of 2002 was based on a vicious communal polarisation campaign (he might have lost the election otherwise because he was CM for just a few months & the BJP had lost its way) . Modi's subsequent years involved much of the good work for which he is rightly being praised now. Nothing however can erase those ghastly events that happened under his watch.