Chandigarh, August 28: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday reiterated that the Congress was not connected with the 1984 riots and any involvement of a few Congress leaders could have been only at an individual level.
The Chief Minister reacted strongly to SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia’s statement in the Vidhan Sabha on the issue, saying the former minister must have been in a pram when the riots took place and had no knowledge about the issue at all.
Majithia raised the issue of Rahul Gandhi’s recent statement on the 1984 riots in the House, to which Captain Amarinder responded with a strong missive to the Akali leader not to indulge in falsehoods.
The Chief Minister told mediapersons later that Majithia was just about eight years old at the time of the riots and was probably in a pram. What does he know about the issue, asked Captain Amarinder, warning the Akalis against playing with the sentiments of the Sikhs on the sensitive matter.
Earlier, reiterating his stand on the issue in the House, Captain Amarinder said he had personally visited individual camps immediately after the incident and met people there.
People in the camps had named some individual Congress leaders, namely HKL Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar, Arjun Singh and Dharamdas Shastri, which he had subsequently revealed to the public, said the Chief Minister.
“I have been naming these people for the past almost 40 years,” said Captain Amarinder, adding that he had named the people who were mentioned to him, and not out of any personal knowledge.
On his visit to the affected areas and the camps in the aftermath of the riots, the Chief Minister said the situation had been bad, and bodies of victims could be seen rotting on the roads.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra wanted the names of the people who were not present in the House during the discussion to be expunged. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader HS Phoolka raised objections.
The Chief Minister said there was no need to expunge the names as these members had been in public debate for the past 34 years, and had already been exposed in the public eye.
