Rahul Gandhi Denies Congress' Involvement in 1984 Sikh Genocide
Rahul Gandhi Denies Congress' Involvement in 1984 Sikh Genocide Congress President Rahul Gandhi triggered a major controversy on Friday by denying his party’s involvement in the 1984 Sikh genocide. Gandhi said, “I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I don't agree. Certainly there was violence, there was tragedy. ”Several Congress leaders, including Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, were accused of organizing the large-scale riots in Delhi in the aftermath of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination at the hands of her Sikh bodyguards. Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia has condemned the statement and sought an apology from Gandhi. He has said, "When asked about the riots, Rajiv Gandhi had then said 'When a big tree falls, the earth shakes'. Jagdish Tytler went on record to say that Rajiv Gandhi accompanied him to recce different parts of Delhi to see how successful the massacre was." He added, "Rahul Gandhi must apologize for this and take decisive action against Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler. When he denies Congress' involvement, it is a blatant lie." Congress, in turn, has issued a statement clarifying Gandhi’s words and claimed that the question was “planted”. Congress has said, “Responding to a planted and hostile question which contained a sweeping statement that Congress party was criminally involved in the 1984 riots, Rahul Gandhi said that that's a wrong statement. Congress party was not criminally involved in the riots. What happened was very sad, it was very unfortunate. Congress party has condemned the incident and our leaders have condemned what happened and we stand with those who suffered in the riots. We believe that the perpetrators must be punished.” -PTC News
