New Delhi: The BJP on Friday accused the Congress of reopening old wounds of Sikhs by appointing anti-Sikh riots accused Jagdish Tytler as a permanent invitee to its Delhi state committee.
The Congress, however, said Tytler was appointed to the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) as he is a former MP from the city and accused the BJP of “trying to create confusion”.
Seeking to corner the Congress government in poll-bound Punjab, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia asked Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to make it clear whether he agrees with the appointment which has “angered” the entire country.
Bhatia said the 1984 riots are the “biggest black spot” on Indian democracy.
Alleging that the riots were Congress-sponsored violence, he said the party never gave justice to Sikhs and it is the BJP which has been working on it.
The opposition has reopened the Sikh community’s old wounds by appointing Tytler to the key body of its Delhi state organisation, he added.
“Is this honour for Tytler? Giving him this protection is appropriate on the part of Sonia Gandhi?” he said, noting that all such appointments are approved by the Congress president.
“While the BJP is trying to give the victim families justice and bring the guilty to book, the Congress’ message to the accused is that don’t worry, the Gandhi family is with you,” Bhatia alleged, asserting that Congress leader Sajjan Kumar was convicted in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case due to the efforts of the BJP government.
The BJP leader referred to the report of a commission which had probed the riots to highlight the suspected involvement of Tytler, who was once a powerful Congress leader in the national capital.
However, his fortunes declined as his alleged role in the violence aimed at Sikhs following the assassination of Indira Gandhi came to the fore.
Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said Tytler was appointed to the committee as he is a former parliamentarian from Delhi.
“The BJP is trying to create confusion,” Khera said.
He also asked whether the prime minister should resign “if the Supreme Court is looking into the Gujarat riots”, referring to the apex court saying it would like to peruse the closure report of the Special Investigation Team giving the clean chit to 64 people, including Narendra Modi who was the Gujarat chief minister during the 2002 riots in the state, and the justification given by the magisterial court while accepting it.
