Again, Amarinder says 'no Congress involvement' in 1984 anti-Sikh riots
File photo of Amarinder Singh
'The incident took place when Indiraji was killed. At that time, Rajiv Gandhi was at an airport in Bengal. There was no Congress involvement other than some people,' Amarinder Singh said on Monday.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has again said there was "no Congress involvement" in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
He first made the statement on Sunday, reiterating what Congress President Rahul Gandhi had said in London last week.
Some 11,000 Sikhs lost their lives in the riots which followed the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikhi bodyguards. The worst of the killing took place in Delhi where 3,000 Sikhs were killed.
The involvement of Congress leaders in the riots is well documented.
"The incident took place when Indiraji was killed. At that time, Rajiv Gandhi was at an airport in Bengal. There was no Congress involvement other than some people," Amarinder Singh said on Monday.
"I have named few people. Sajjan Kumar, Dharamdas Shastri, Arjun Das and two more people," Singh added.
"To hold Rahul Gandhi responsible for an act which he wasn't even aware of at the time it happened was completely ridiculous. Congress, as a party was never involved in riots," Singh had said on Sunday.
"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 with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy," Gandhi had said earlier in London.
AAP leader and lawyer HS Phoolka, who has spearheaded the fight for justice for victims of the riots, had responded to Rahul Gandhi's statement, saying: "Rahul Gandhi's statement that Congress had no role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots is wrong. That's why I've challenged him for an open debate about Congress' and his father Rajiv Gandhi's involvement."
Phoolka added that "The massacre was organised by Congress on directions of Rajiv Gandhi."