Chandigarh, Oct 24 Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday lashed out at Congress over INDIA bloc’s November 1 rally against SIR, questioning why they have chosen the very day associated with one of the most painful memories of the Sikh community.
Saini said that the party had 365 days of the year to hold a rally, but its decision to choose November 1 raises serious questions.
Anti-Sikh riots erupted across Delhi and other parts of the country following the assassination of the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.
“Our concern for the victims of 1984 is not a matter of politics, but of compassion and duty. Standing with the victims is not a favour; it is our moral responsibility,” he said
The Congress-led INDIA bloc’s November 1 rally at the Ramlila Maidan has been described as the culmination of the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march against alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission and the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Congress has asserted that at least 10 lakh people are expected to march against “vote chori” (vote theft), saying this will send a strong message of “unity” over protecting democracy and the Constitution.
Saini said that only when a special investigation team (SIT) was constituted in 2015 and files lying closed were reopened, the victims’ hopes of obtaining justice were strengthened.
Saini said that the violence of 1984 had also left deep scars in Haryana. As many as 121 people lost their lives in the state, while 20 gurdwaras, 221 houses, 154 shops and 57 factories were set on fire.
However, recognising its responsibility towards them, the government decided in the legislative assembly that members of these 121 families would be provided government jobs so that they could move forward in life with dignity.
Saini said that the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is not a new process. Intensive revision exercises have been undertaken in various years since independence, including during several periods when the Congress was in power.
(PTI News)
