Punjab CM Amarinder hails Sajjan Kumar's conviction, says justice finally delivered

Amarinder said the conviction vindicated the stand he had been taking since dark days of violence perpetrated on thousands of innocent Sikhs in the wake of the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder SIngh. (File Photo)
Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder SIngh. (File Photo)

CHANDIGARH: Hailing the long-awaited verdict in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday said that he had been naming Sajjan Kumar, along with other  Congress leaders, including Dharam Das Shastri, HKL Bhagat and Arjun Das, for the past 34 years, based on the information he had personally received from victims in refugee camps in Delhi during the riots.

Welcoming the conviction, Singh said that "justice is finally delivered to the victims of one of the worst instances of communal violence in independent India."

The Delhi High Court convicted Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and sentenced him to life imprisonment in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, thirty-four years after the tragedy.

The reversal by the high court of the earlier acquittal of Sajjan by a trial court has once again proved that the judiciary in India continued to stand tall as a pillar of the nation’s democratic system, he said.

Amarinder said the conviction vindicated the stand he had been taking since those dark days of the violence perpetrated on thousands of innocent Sikhs in the wake of the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.

President of Punjab Congress and Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur, Sunil Kumar Jakhar said the party has been clear that whoever was involved in the riots should be brought to justice. “Yes, justice has been delayed but delivered finally. Nobody is above law and anyone who is involved in such a heinous
crime should be brought to justice,” he said.

Union food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal while demanding action against the Gandhi family for extending political patronage to Sajjan Kumar said, “now the courts have also made it clear that justice was denied to the 1984 victims due to political patronage”. 

Action should now be taken against UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi who should be questioned about her role as an accomplice of former PM Rajiv Gandhi in the 1984 massacres, she further added. “Similarly Rahul Gandhi should also tell the people why he lied some months back that the Congress party did not have any role in the 1984 genocide.’’

Senior AAP leader and Member of Parliament from Sangrur Bhagwant Maan said, "There was a long delay in the verdict. Many people died waiting for justice. By making  Kamal Nath as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Congress has rubbed salt on our wounds which have not healed yet. There was a protest in Punjab when he was made the state in-charge and he was recalled.’’

"No doubt, the verdict is a big relief to the victims and a hope for justice seekers. However, while treading cautiously we had decided to welcome the verdict the day Sajjan Kumar will land in jail," said Dal Khalsa leader Kanwarpal Singh. He said Sajjan Kumar was one of the main members of the Rajiv Gandhi coterie. This verdict should serve as a warning to Rahul Gandhi who has handpicked Kamal Nath as CM of MP.

Hailing the Court’s decision as ‘historic', senior BJP leader Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina said that it was during the NDA government’s tenure Special Investigating Team (SIT) was formed and the cases
relating to the 1984 massacre were re-investigated. "Most of the times the Congress was in power and they never initiated proper investigations on the basis of which the judiciary was to deliver justice,” said Chhina.

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