New Delhi: Chief minister Rekha Gupta Sunday targeted the Gandhi family over the 1984 anti-Sikh violence, questioning Congress leaders on what they had done to ensure justice for thousands of families who lost their loved ones.
“Was what happened in Nov 1984 not a murder of democracy? Drawing parallels with the Emergency in 1975 and the 1984 violence, she accused the Gandhi family of repeatedly undermining democratic values. She alleged that choosing Nov 1 for a political programme was insensitive towards the victims’ families. Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said 2,733 people were killed in Delhi during the violence, while official figures put the nationwide death toll at 3,325.
Gupta said. Referring to Congress and its allies, she said thousands of Sikh men and women participating in the padayatra were asking when their concerns would be addressed and when they would get justice. He said the Sikh community had always considered these figures an incomplete record. Questioning the description of the events as riots, Puri said there had been no clashes between two groups but a one-sided wave of killings. “What happened in 1984 was not merely a riot, but a genocide carried out by the Congress govt of the time,” he said. The country had still not fully come to terms with the tragedy, he said.
Thousands of Sikh families are still waiting for justice and grieving the loss of their loved ones in the Congress-sponsored massacre. Has the Gandhi family ever uttered even a few words about them?
Delhi minister Ashish Sood called for unity against the mindset that promotes anarchy, while Sardar Arvinder Singh Lovely said the attack on the Sikh community was an attack on the entire nation. Hari Nagar MLA Shyam Sharma said the BJP’s silent protest march was a tribute to the victims. MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney appealed to Gupta to ensure complete justice for economically weaker people living in Sikh rehabilitation colonies. Sardar Manjinder Singh Sirsa questioned how Congress could speak about justice after honouring people accused of involvement in the violence.
Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra also accused Congress of planning the violence and said Rahul Gandhi was rubbing salt into the wounds of victims’ families by organising a political programme on the anniversary. He praised the creation of the SIT under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.