Rahul Gandhi’s comments on 1984 riots trigger protests at Congress office

New Delhi – 300 protesters carrying black flags and shouting slogans waved black flags and climbed on top of barricades outside the Congress party office in Delhi, expressing their anger against Rahul Gandhi for his comments about the 1984 riots in Delhi.

This week, Mr Gandhi, who is the Congress Vice-President, said that “some Congressmen were probably involved” in the killing of hundreds of Sikhs after the assassination of his grandmother and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

However, Mr Gandhi insisted that the Congress government at the time did its best to check the violence.

“The CBI should ask Mr Gandhi which people he was talking about. He should be made to take names,” said one protester today.

Almost three decades later, senior Congress leaders like Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler are being tried for allegedly inciting mobs to attack Sikhs in retalitation for the killing of Mrs Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. The delay in the legal proceedings has been criticized by Sikh leaders, the families of those who died in the violence, and the opposition.

Arvind Kejriwal, who took over as Chief Minister of Delhi a month ago, has asked that a Special Investigating Team be appointed to conduct an independent inquiry to determine who was responsible for the communal violence.

Mr Kejriwal met yesterday with Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung to ask for the investigation. The Lieutenant Governor, who represents the union government in Delhi ,said today that he is awaiting a formal proposal from Mr Kejriwal that outlines the terms of the inquiry.