Jaiswal holds Sangh Parivar responsible for 1984 anti-Sikh riots

Varanasi, Apr 8 (UNI) Union Minister of State for Home affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal today held the Sangh Parivar responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots triggered by the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Reacting to BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu's statements, who had earlier in the day, accused the Congress of publishing an anti-Sikh advertisement in newspapers in 1984, Mr Jaiswal told newspersons here, ''it is all baseless. The Congress was in no way responsible for the anti-Sikh riots in 1984, neither did the party publish any anti-Sikh advertisement in the media during that period.'' He further alleged ''if anybody was responsible for the 1984 riots, it was solely the RSS and its allied outfits...'' Slamming the BJP for levelling unfounded allegations against the Congress over the anti-Sikh riots, Mr Jaiswal, also a Congress MP from Kanpur said ''statements like these and the announcements pertaining to the surrender by BJP president Rajnath Singh before police in Lucknow tomorrow over the CD controversy shows that BJP is shameless.'' ''BJP ne nirlajjta parakashtha par kar li hai'' (BJP has crossed all limits of shamelessness).

Mr Jaiswal also reiterated that the Election Commission expeditiously deal with matter pertaining to the release of the BJP CD containing material about the 1992 Ayodhya demolition and the post-Godhra carnage by swiftly derecognising the party led by Rajnath Singh.

''Nirvachan Ayog ko ab inka (BJP) ka registeration turant khatam kar dena chahiye.'' Earlier in the day, former BJP president Venkaiah Naidu had termed the Congress as ''the mother of communal politics'' in the country. ''The Congress, since 1947, has thrived by pursuing the communal agenda and has divided the Hindu society to garner votes.

The anti-Sikh advertisements published by the Congress in newspapers during the 1984 speaks volumes about its hollow commitment towards secularism,'' Mr Naidu said.

Taking a dig at the Congress, SP and BSP for raising a hue and cry over the controversial CD issue and for demanding that the EC de-recognise the BJP as a political party, Mr Naidu said ''these parties have thrived by furthering the communal and casteist agenda to attract votes. The EC needs to first de-recognise these parties.'' Mr Jaiswal, hailing from the trader community also charged the BJP with hoodwinking the community. ''It is the 'Vaishya Samaj' (trader community) which has nurtured the BJP from a small plant into a national party, but it has always been disloyal to their cause and has repeatedly hoodwinked them.'' Mr Jaiswal was in the holy city to attend some personal engagements.

UNI