Union food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today asked Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to hold a special session of the Vidhan Sabha to adopt a similar resolution as done by the Ontario legislature declaring the mass murder of Sikhs following the assassination of former PM Indira Gandhi as genocide.In a statement here, Mrs Badal said the Punjab assembly resolution should capture the essence of the Ontario resolution which has called for truth, justice and reconciliation. She said this was essential to publicly expose those who conceived the genocide as well as the perpetrators.The Union minister said it was also incumbent on Capt Amarinder Singh to clarify his stand on the issue. "There are misgivings in the minds of the people that he has tried to shield the perpetrators of this heinous crime, particularly Jagdish Tytler". She said Amarinder had come out with a statement giving a clean chit to Tytler in the run up to the last parliamentary elections. "This despite the fact that Tytler's role in the mass violence is well documented in police records", she added.Mrs Badal said the Punjab assembly could even discuss the entire issue so that those planned this genocide which claimed thousands of Sikhs, could be identified. "Only if the entire set of perpetrators are brought before the people, can truth prevail in this case".
She also called for passing a resolution for speedy justice to the victims of this massacre as well as reconciliation through rehabilitation, understanding and admittance of this grave crime against humanity.Mrs Badal admitted this would be a difficult task for Amarinder. "He has to choose between being true to the Sikh community versus shielding a family whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents. Amarinder however must rise to the occasion and denounce all those elements in the Congress who authored this massacre. This alone will assuage the hurt feelings of the community worldwide", she added.Speaking about the November 1984 massacres, Mrs Badal said the present central government had reopened 250 cases and even formed a SIT to look anew into the entire matter. She said the earlier Nanavati Commission had also been formed by the NDA. "The UPA led by the Congress has on the other hand tried its best to scuttle probes into the genocide", she added.She also clarified that even Union home minister Rajnath Singh had referred to the incident as genocide. She said the MEA had made a statement in this regard because this issue was clubbed with various others. "Ms Sushma Swaraj will further clarify this issue tomorrow", she added.