Rahul Gandhi calls 1984 incidents "wrong and tragic"

Amritsar, Nov.18 : Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday described anti Sikh riots of Delhi as "wrong" and incidents in Punjab that took place in 1984 as a "tragedy".

He added that guilty people of the 1984 riots that followed his grandmother's assassination ought to be brought to justice.

While answering a question that after Operation Bluestar and 1984 Delhi Sikh riots there was hatred for the Congress party in a section of Sikhs living in India and abroad and how does Congress think of healing Sikhs' wounds, Rahul said: "I think whatever happened during 1984 was wrong. I think the people involved should be brought to justice."

"I have travelled a lot in Punjab and never had this kind of feeling. I have always felt the warmth all around. I have no ill feeling towards anybody or any community. Neither my family has any ill feeling towards anyone. I don't have any animosity towards anybody," he added.

Asked about his growing love for the Sikh community, Rahul said: "My mother feels and my father and grandmother always felt that if there is any one community that India should be proud of, it is the Sikh community. In 1977, when my grandmother lost in elections, it was only the Sikhs who were standing by her side. I had watched it by my own eyes."

Rahul was on a day-long visit to the holy city to inaugurate a pilot project. He reviewed the process of Punjab Youth Congress's organizational elections along with J.M. Lyngdoh and K.J. Rao, chairman and general secretary respectively, of Foundation for Advance Management of Election (FAME) that has been assigned the task of conducting internal elections of Youth Congress in a democratic fashion.

Operation Blue Star, carried out from June 3 to June 6, 1984 was a military operation against Sikh militants who had established a stronghold in the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Rahul also visited Amritsar recently on September 22. y Ravinder Singh Robin

ANI