New Delhi: Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa Wednesday accused Congress leader Sonia Gandhi of attempting to whitewash her family’s image through her newly released memoir, claiming that it misrepresented the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and omitted the names of Congress leaders accused in the violence.
Calling the book a bundle of lies and not a journey of love but a journey of hate, Sirsa said Gandhi wrote about the sufferings of her family but failed to acknowledge the plight of the Sikh families who lost their loved ones in the violence post the assassination of then-prime minister Indira Gandhi October 31, 1984.
The Sikh community does not want sympathy. It wants truth, accountability and justice. Writing a book does not rewrite history, Sirsa said.
The memoir, Belonging A Journey Of Love, hit the stands Tuesday.
Sonia Gandhi has written about her own tears. She has written about Indira Gandhi’s tears. She has given Rajiv Gandhi a clean chit. But there’s not one line of accountability for the Sikh families whose homes were burnt, whose children were orphaned and whose women lost their husbands and sons, Sirsa said.
He also took objection to Gandhi’s account of the 1984 violence, particularly her reference to more than 2,000 people losing their lives in Delhi and her statement that she had become empty of tears.
She admits that more than 2,000 Sikhs were murdered in cold blood. So, where are the murderers’ names She knows the numbers. But she hides the names, the Sikh leader alleged.
Sirsa also questioned Gandhi’s assertion that Rajiv Gandhi could not have authorised the violence, calling it a clean chit, and alleged that the memoir did not mention Congress leaders Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler, who were named in the proceedings related to the riots.
Referring to the various inquiries and committees set up after the violence, Sirsa cited the Ahuja panel’s figures of 2,733 deaths in Delhi, out of 3,325 across the country.
He also referred to the findings of the Kapur-Mittal, Jain-Banerjee, Jain-Aggarwal, Narula and Nanavati panels, alleging that the memoir failed to adequately reflect their findings.
The Jain-Banerjee Committee recommended cases against Sajjan Kumar and Brahmanand Gupta, while the Jain-Aggarwal Committee recommended action against several Congress leaders, including H K L Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar, Dharamdas Shastri and Jagdish Tytler, Sirsa said.
He also cited the Nanavati Commission’s observations on Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, and said the Congress failed to act against the leaders named in the reports.
Some of them were instead given party tickets and positions in government, Sirsa alleged.
Putting a death toll is easy. But writing the names (of perpetrators) is hard when they belong to your own party, he added.
Questioning the book’s account of Operation Blue Star, Sirsa said Gandhi described the military action at the Golden Temple as nothing less than sacrilege, while also referring to Indira Gandhi’s face being wet with tears, tears of pain and regret, I think.
She admits it was sacrilege and still no apology. Even the regret comes with an ‘I think’. The regret stayed in the drawing room. The tanks rolled into Darbar Sahib, he said.
Sirsa also claimed that the Army raided more than 40 places of worship across Punjab during the operation in October 1984.
He cited the official figures of 575 deaths, and said records placed before the British Parliament mentioned an estimate of up to 3,000, including pilgrims.
Sirsa also questioned Gandhi’s reference to the Congress returning to power in Punjab after the violence, saying the mainstream Akali factions boycotted the 1992 Assembly elections, which recorded a turnout of 23.8 per cent.
A turnout of 23.8 per cent, and she calls it the forgiveness of the Sikh community A Congress victory in 1992 cannot wash away the blood of 1984, Sirsa said.
He also alleged that the delay in securing justice for the victims was systemic, citing the case of a complainant who submitted an affidavit to the Jain-Banerjee Committee in 1987, while an FIR was registered only in 1991.
Sirsa also referred to the findings of the Human Rights Watch, a US-headquartered non-profit, on the registration and closure of cases by Delhi Police.
Accusing the Congress of failing to provide timely rehabilitation to the victims’ families, Sirsa claimed the BJP government provided government jobs to 55 family members of 1984 victims in Delhi.
He said the memoir should be titled Bundle of Lies, and demanded that the Gandhi family answer questions about accountability, delay in justice and rehabilitation of victims.