Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri described the anti-Sikh riots as one of the “darkest blots in the history of independent India.”
Marking the anniversary of the 1984 riots, he recalled the horrors faced by the Sikh community at the hands of mobs out to avenge the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and added that minorities are now safe in the country.
“Today we observe the anniversary of one of the darkest blots in the history of independent India. I shudder even now when I recall those days of 1984 when helpless and innocent Sikh men, women and children were mindlessly massacred, and their properties and places of worship were ransacked by murderous mobs guided and led by Congress leaders and their cronies,” he wrote on X, with the hashtag “NeverForget1984”.
“This was when the police was forced to stand as a mute spectator even as Sikhs were being pulled out of their houses, vehicles and Gurdwaras and were being burnt alive. The state machinery was turned on its head. The protectors had turned to perpetrators,” he further wrote.
“Voter lists were used to identify Sikh owned homes and properties; no attempts were made to stop the mobs for several days. Instead with his statement”
Quoting “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes,” Puri alleged that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had openly supported the massacre of Sikhs, adding that Congress leaders were seen leading mobs outside Gurdwaras as the police stood by and watched.
“The very institutions meant to uphold law and order surrendered their conscience and allowed a free hand to these leaders,” he wrote
In a subsequent tweet, he further wrote, “Years later, all this was corroborated by the Nanavati Commission (2005) which very clearly said how “There is credible evidence against Congress(I) leaders who led mobs and provoked attacks.”
Puri alleged that the Congress enabled the massacre and protected the perpetrators.
Puri, who was then serving as a first secretary in Geneva, said he had feared for the safety of his parents living in Delhi.
“Like all other members of my Sikh Sangat, this violence also came close to my house,” he wrote.
In his final tweet in the thread, Puri wrote, “Today is the time to remember that violence with anger and rage, even as we pay homage to the victims and empathise with the anguish and pain of the families they left behind.”