Badals question Congress' sincerity on 1984 anti-Sikh riots

Amritsar, Nov 21 (UNI) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal (MP) today rebuked AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi on his remark that those responsible for the anti-Sikh riots in 1984 should be punished.

'' The Congress only thinks about punishment when assembly elections are being held or when the Lok Sabha poll is round the corner,'' the Chief Minister said while talking to mediapersons here.

Mr Gandhi made the statement just to win the sympathy in the state where assembly polls were being held, the elder Badal said, adding, ''The Congress has never been sincere to punish those involved in the riots.'' The Chief Minister said the sincerity of the Congress could be judged from the fact that its election manifesto for the Delhi assembly elections was released by none other than Jagdish Tytler, who had been named in various reports instituted to probe into the Delhi riots.

Moreover, the Congress has given tickets in Delhi to a number of persons who were involved in the 1984 riots, he claimed.

The Chief Minister predicted that the BJP-SAD alliance would win the Delhi polls and Sikh voters would vote against the Congress.

The SAD chief also questioned the sincerity of the Congress and the Gandhi family vis-a-vis punishing those involved in the riots, which were engineered by the Congress.

Questioned about ''Hindu terrorism'', the SAD chief said his party was against all forms of terror. ''We do not support any form of terror and the BJP too is against this.'' he added.

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