Rahul Gandhi must apologise for reopening wounds of 1984 Sikh genocide: Delhi BJP Minority Morcha

New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) Families affected by the 1984 genocide and workers of the Delhi BJP Minority Morcha took out a protest march on Monday and demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi and the Congress for members of the Sikh community and workers of the Delhi BJP Minority Morcha. 

New Delhi BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj said that by organising an INDIA bloc rally in Delhi on Sunday, Rahul Gandhi has reopened the old wounds of the Sikh community.

Rahul Gandhi and the Congress must apologise to the nation and the Sikh community and ensure justice for the victims of the 1984 genocide, she said.

The participants of the march, organised to protest against the massacre of Sikhs carried out by Congress leaders and workers between October 31 and November 2, 1984, walked from Gurudwara Sri Bangla Sahib to Gurudwara Sri Rakab Ganj Sahib, reciting Gurbani along the way, said a Delhi BJP statement.

They shouted slogans like, “India will never forget the 1984 Sikh Genocide perpetrated by the Congress.”

West Delhi BJP MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat, along with senior BJP leader Rajiv Babbar, participated in the Tribute March.

Hundreds of Sikh women, groups of Nihang leaders, a group of affected Sikh families residing in Tilak Vihar, and a large number of BJP workers joined the march. At Gurudwara Sri Rakab Ganj Sahib, everyone lit candles in memory of the Sikhs who lost their lives in the genocide, the statement said.

Sehrawat said that following the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Sikhs were systematically targeted in the 1984 genocide.

Individual houses were identified, Sikh families living there were dragged out of their homes, and subjected to inhuman atrocities.

This was not an act carried out by ordinary members of the public; rather, it was orchestrated by Congress Party leaders and people who enjoyed the party's support and protection, she said.

Sehrawat said that Rahul Gandhi’s politics around the date of November 1 has reopened the old wounds of the Sikh community.

Targeting Rahul Gandhi, the BJP MP said the injustice inflicted upon Sikh families during the tenure of your father, Rajiv Gandhi, and the allegations of people being instigated during that period continue to cause deep pain in the hearts of the community.

“Do not attempt to revive that painful chapter, because even today, all the affected families, particularly the women who endured the suffering of that period, remain united in raising their voices against injustice, she said.

Bansuri Swaraj said that the massacre of innocent Sikh men and women in 1984 was a premeditated conspiracy by the Congress.

The then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had attempted to justify the genocide by saying, “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.” His son Rahul Gandhi has demonstrated the same mindset today.

On November 1, 1984, Congress workers and rioters operating under the party's patronage brutally burnt members of the Sikh community alive. It is ironic that Rahul Gandhi chose that very date, November 1, to organise a rally promoting anarchy, while the Sikh community waited for justice for years and the Congress maintained its silence.

She said that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has provided compensation and jobs to families affected by the 1984 genocide and worked to ensure that the guilty are punished.

The conviction of Sajjan Kumar is an example of this. She alleged that not a single leader of the INDIA bloc spoke even a word about the 1984 Sikh genocide during Rahul Gandhi's rally.

--IANS

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