Reacting sharply on the admission of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi that the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 were a handiwork of certain congressmen and not the entire party, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked the Nehru-Gandhi scion that what deterred his party and government from acting against those Congress leaders who were involved in this heinous act.Interacting with the media persons on the sidelines of Sangat Darshan program of Sri Muktsar Sahib assembly segment, the Chief Minister said that now when Mr. Rahul Gandhi has admitted that some Congress leaders were involved in this brutal act of killing thousands of innocent Sikhs, he owes an answer to the public that why these Congress leaders have not been punished so far. He said that instead of taking any action against these tainted leaders the Congress party has not only been protecting them but they were being rewarded by the party with pivotal posts, which reflected the anti-Sikh stance of the Congress party. Without mincing any words, Mr. Badal said that there was hardly any doubt in the fact that the senior Congress leaders had cruelly murdered the innocent Sikhs and instead of acting against them the Congress party had shielded the guilty of this dreaded crime.Out rightly rejecting the demand of Delhi Chief Minister Mr. Arvind Kejriwal for setting up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, the Chief Minister said that there was hardly any need for it as several earlier high level enquiries conducted on the matter have pointed towards the role Congress leaders in this planned mass massacre of Sikhs.
He said that the need of the hour was to take exemplary action against the Congress leaders involved in this dastardly act so that succor could be provided to the victim families. Mr. Badal said that these riots had inflicted a deep wound on the Sikh psyche and deliverance of justice to victims by punishing the accused rather than setting up another SIT was the need of the hour. Replying to another query, the Chief Minister termed the incident of disrupting the speech of the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh by a person as unfortunate. He said that it was regrettable incident which must be condemned by one and all unanimously. Mr. Badal said that the offices of Prime Minister and Chief Minister besides other constitutional functionaries were coveted and the people must pay respect to them without indulging in such sort of gimmickries.Earlier addressing the gathering during Sangat Darshan in village Khokhar, Thandewala, Goniana, Bhadai and Jawaharewala the Chief Minister, while reiterating the firm commitment of the state government to eliminate water logging from the state, said that all out efforts were being made to get rid of this menace.
He said that the state government has already formulated a master plan to eradicate the menace of water logging from the state so that relief could be provided to the residents of south western districts of the state. Lashing out at the Congress party, the Chief Minister said that the Congress led UA government has meted out step motherly treatment to the state adding the Centre government has been equally insensitive in tackling the problem of water logging. However he said that the days of the UPA government at the centre were numbered and after the formation of NDA government under Mr. Narendra Modi an era of unprecedented development would be heralded in the state. Mr. Badal said that once the NDA government was formed at the centre there would be no dearth of funds for the development of the state.The Chief Minister was accompanied by Lok Sabha MP Mr. Sher Singh Ghubaya, Senior Akali leaders Mr. Kanwaljeet Singh Rozy Barkandi and Mr. Manjit Singh Barkandi, former President of Municipal Council Sri Muktsar Sahib Mr. Mit Singh Brar, former MLA Mr. Sukhdarshan Singh Muraar, Mr. Manjinder Singh Bittu, his Special Principal Secretary Mr. Gurkirat Kirpal Singh and Deputy Commissioner Mr. Paramjit Singh.