New Delhi, 02 November (H.S.): A tribute march was organised in Delhi on Monday in memory of the innocent people killed in the 1984 violence against the Sikh community. Carrying the slogan, “India will never forget the genocide of Sikhs by the Congress”, members of families affected by the 1984 violence, members of the Sikh community and workers of the Delhi BJP Minority Morcha took part in the march from Gurdwara Shri Bangla Sahib to Gurdwara Shri Rakab Ganj Sahib, reciting Gurbani along the route.

At the conclusion of the march, candles were lit in remembrance of the Sikhs who lost their lives in the violence, and floral tributes were paid to them.

Delhi BJP MPs Kamaljeet Sehrawat and Bansuri Swaraj, along with senior party leader Rajiv Babbar, also participated in the march. They were joined by members of affected families, including Sardar Kartar Singh, Priti Singh Kaur, Jasvir Kaur, Bhagi Kaur, Paramjit Kaur and Manpreet Kaur, as well as hundreds of Sikh women, Nihang jathedars, members of affected families residing in Tilak Vihar and a large number of BJP workers. The Delhi BJP Minority Morcha workers coordinated the arrangements for the march.

On the occasion, MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat said members of the Sikh community had been systematically targeted following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. She alleged that Sikh families were identified house by house, forcibly taken out of their homes and subjected to inhuman atrocities. She maintained that the violence was not the work of ordinary citizens but was carried out by Congress leaders and individuals who enjoyed the party’s support and protection.

Sehrawat said the Congress had never made serious efforts to secure justice for the affected families or help them heal from their suffering. She added that Rahul Gandhi’s renewed political references to November 1 had reopened the old wounds of the Sikh community. The Sikh community, she said, had always stood with the country and society but would not tolerate injustice or disorder.

She appealed to Rahul Gandhi not to make attempts to create disorder in the country or reopen the wounds of the Sikh community. Sehrawat said the pain caused by the injustice suffered by Sikh families in 1984 remained deeply embedded in society, and that the affected families, particularly women who had endured the suffering of that period, continued to stand united in their pursuit of justice.

BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj alleged that the killing of innocent members of the Sikh community in 1984 was the result of a deliberate conspiracy by the Congress. Referring to a statement made by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, in which he had said that “when a big tree falls, the earth shakes”, Swaraj alleged that Rahul Gandhi had demonstrated the same mindset by organising a rally on November 1.

She said that on November 1, 1984, members of the Sikh community had been burnt alive by Congress workers and miscreants allegedly operating under the party’s protection. Against this backdrop, she described Rahul Gandhi’s decision to hold a rally on the same date as an attempt to reopen the community’s painful memories. She said the Sikh community had waited for justice for years, while the Congress had maintained silence on the issue.

Swaraj further said that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had provided compensation and employment to families affected by the 1984 violence and had worked to ensure that those responsible were punished. The conviction of Sajjan Kumar, she said, was an example of this effort. She also alleged that no leader of any constituent party of the INDIA bloc had uttered a word about the 1984 anti-Sikh violence during Rahul Gandhi’s rally.

Invoking the Sanskrit maxim “Maunam Swikriti Lakshanam” (Silence is a sign of consent), Swaraj said the silence of Opposition leaders indicated their agreement with the Congress’s actions. She said Rahul Gandhi had reopened the old wounds of the Sikh community by holding the rally and should apologise to the country and the Sikh community, while making serious efforts to ensure justice for the victims of the 1984 violence.

Those who participated in the march included Delhi BJP state general secretary Mohan Lal Gihara, Yogita Singh, Gurmeet Singh Sura, Kailash Jain, Amit Gupta, Aneesh Abbasi, Charanjit Singh Lovely, Kuldeep Singh, Harjinder Singh Sodhi, Savinder Singh Kohli, Gurpreet Singh Sarpanch, Gurmeet Singh, Kulwinder Singh Bunty, Isprit Singh, Kuljit Kaur and Sumanlata Dagar, along with other BJP office-bearers and party workers.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar