Now, 1984 riots accused Jagdish Tytler joins Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra

People have never absolved Tytler of the charges in the last three decades and the issue keeps coming back to haunt him time and again.

New Delhi, Dec 19: There is fresh controversy over Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, one of the main accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as he was seen at Delhi Congress meeting held at the party office today over the preparations for Bharat Jodo Yatra.

The 1984 riots seem to be an old issue for the Congress as he has been the part and parcel of every key party meeting. Perhaps the party thinks that people, particularly the Sikhs, have forgotten his ghastly crimes and/or forgiven him.

Defending his presence, Tytler said no court of law has found him guilty, and neither could any investigating agency manage to provide any evidence of his involvement in the riots. "Is there any FIR (in 1984 anti-Sikh riots) against me? CBI has also given me clearance. Some are only doing politics... Yes, will join (Bharat Jodo Yatra), and I will be with the party until my last breath," Tytler said.

In a bid to justify it, he said "we will participate because we are in favour of what he is doing. So, we will participate in a big way", conveniently forgetting that all those clean-chits to him were given when the Congress was in power at the Centre.

Tytler & anti-Sikh riots

Tytler is one of the top Congress leaders suspected for their role in 1984 riots. Others prominent names are: Sajjan Kumar, who stands convicted for life and is serving a jail term for his involvement in the riots, H.K.L Bhagat, who is no more now, and Kamal Nath, who too managed to come out clean and even rose to become the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh later.

In Tytler's case, the CBI had filed three closure reports in 2007, 2009 and 2014 after a long and tardy investigation. But Delhi's Karkardooma court rejected the CBI closure reports on December 4, 2015, on the protest petition by Lakhwinder Kaur, who lost her husband in the Gurdwara Pul Bangash attack. The court had also asked the CBI to continue with its probe.

Though the Nanavati Commission had hinted at his role in the riots, successive Congress governments did not show any inclination to press charges against him. In fact, he was inducted as a minister after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power at the Centre. But people have never absolved Tytler of the charges in the last three decades and the issue keeps coming back to haunt him time and again.