(Photo Courtesy: Indian Express)
Only a few months are left in the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots have remerged. A day after the CBI chargesheet, senior Congress politician Jagdish Tytler on May 20 about the anti-Sikh riots, two senior BJP leaders, state party chief VD Sharma and medical education minister Vishvas Sarang, called out ex-Chief Minister Kamal Nath for his alleged role in the pogrom.
While interacting with the media on May 21 in Bhopal, Vishvas Sarang said, “Kamal Nath carries a big blot on his robe. Will he lead the party with it in the (assembly) elections? He should clarify whether he was involved in the riots”.
He alleged that “the Congress has always played divisive politics. I appeal to the Congress leadership to remove those accused of involvement in the anti-Sikh riots. Or else it will be clear Congress wants to fight polls under the leadership of a man accused of killing Sikhs”.
Sarang said apart from Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler, who are facing legal action; Kamal Nath played a key role in instigating violence against Sikhs in 1984. The senior BJP leader also questioned the role of Congress in putting hindrances in the probe conducted by the Nanavati Commission and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
He commented on the CBI action against Jagdish Tytler. Sarang said among four congress leaders who were accused of anti-sikh violence, one of them is dead, Sajjan Kumar is in jail, and Tytler is facing CBI. Only Kamal Nath’s involvement is yet to be probed; he might be implicated sooner or later, said the senior BJP leader.
Kamal Nath responded to these allegations on May 22 at Anuppur in Madhya Pradesh. He said, “The BJP has nothing to say against me. In my 45 years in politics, no one could raise a finger,”
In reaction, the state BJP president challenged Kamal Nath and Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh to show evidence against his alleged illegal activities, “Kamal Nath has said that VD Sharma is making allegations to hide his black deeds. Kamal Nath you are a responsible person and has been the Union minister for commerce. He was also chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. I challenge Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh that if there is even one line of proof of his allegation, then I will come for a debate. Otherwise, Kamal Nath should specify his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots”.
VD Sharma added, “The country wants a reply from Kamal Nath about his role, those Sikh brothers who were brutally killed want a reply. So he should answer them”. Sharma even said that he had filed a defamation suit against Kamal Nath’s friend Digvijaya Singh for making false allegations, “I have filed a defamation suit against him. The court has put-up a challan. And now Digvijaya Singh cannot answer. And I will not leave the matter till Digvijaya Singh is in jail”.
The anti-Sikh riots started in 1984 after her bodyguards assassinated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It’s alleged that the ruling dispensation started the pogrom. Later on, after multiple inquiries and investigations, Congress leader Sajjan Kumar was given life imprisonment.
During riots, it was alleged that Kamal Nath was inciting the mob at Rakab Ganj Gurdwara to burn two sikh men alive. According to official records, about 2,800 Sikhs were killed across India, including 2,100 in Delhi, during the pogrom.
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