New Delhi, Aug 15 (IANS) On the occasion of India’s 79th Independence Day, Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa launched a scathing attack on the Congress party and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, drawing a fiery comparison between the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and ‘the Holocaust’.
Taking to social media platform ‘X’, Sirsa reacted sharply to a viral image showing Rahul Gandhi standing in the rain while Jagdish Tytler, accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, stood nearby holding an umbrella. The photograph sparked widespread outrage among Sikh groups and political critics, with Sirsa using it as a powerful symbol of Congress’s unresolved past.
“For Congress, the killing of thousands of Sikhs in 1984 is not a blot it’s a badge they wear with pride. Rahul Gandhi standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Jagdish Tytler is like Hitler posing with Heinrich Himmler the mastermind of the Holocaust. Just as Hitler stood by his mass murderers to send a message that they were his own, Rahul Gandhi standing alongside Jagdish Tytler sends the same message: no matter the past, they remain his own,” Sirsa wrote on X.
BJP leader Amit Malviya, in a post on X, said: “Jagdish Tytler, the man who unleashed genocide on Sikhs at Rajiv Gandhi’s behest, is once again seen alongside Rahul Gandhi at the Congress HQ. Some stains don’t wash away, no matter how much time passes. The Gandhis are unapologetic too.”
Sirsa’s statement comes amid ongoing legal proceedings against Jagdish Tytler, who is accused of leading a mob during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that resulted in the brutal killing and burning of three Sikh men. The case is currently being heard in a Delhi court, where a crucial piece of evidence — a sting operation video — was recently submitted.
Senior Advocate H.S. Phoolka, representing the victims, stated in a previous hearing that the video, recorded in 2012, allegedly features Tytler boasting about having killed 100 Sikhs. The CD was reportedly handed over to the CBI by former Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) President Manjit Singh GK.
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which happened after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, then prime minister, led to the deaths of over 3,000 Sikhs across the country. The worst violence had been reported in Delhi at that time. Tytler has long been in the eye of storm due to the case. Demands had been raised for accountability and justice from the Sikh community.
Sirsa’s strong reaction has underlined the emotional and political weight the 1984 riots continue to carry, especially for the Sikh community.
–IANS
brt/pgh
