Delhi BJP Holds Hari Nagar March Over 1984 Riots, Demands Answers
Hari Nagar witnessed a march on Sunday that brought together Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Delhi BJP chief Harsh Malhotra and several party leaders. New Delhi, November 1. The march sought justice for families affected by the 1984 Sikh genocide and aimed to keep the memory of that tragedy alive.
A party statement said senior BJP leaders, public representatives and thousands of people from the Sikh community participated. Those present expressed solidarity with the victims' families. Through the march, participants held the Congress accountable for the tragedy and demanded justice for families who have waited for decades.
Rekha Gupta questioned those who today carry the Constitution and speak of democracy. The Sikh community, she said, wants to know whether what happened in November 1984 was not the murder of democracy.
"Thousands of Sikh families lost their dear ones in that terrifying era," she said. "Even now, many mothers, sisters and families live with the agonising memories of that tragedy and are still waiting for justice."
Taking aim at the Congress leadership, the Chief Minister asserted that neither the party nor the Gandhi family could shirk responsibility for what the Sikh community endured in 1984.
She observed that democratic values had been violated several times in the country's history. Citing the 1975 Emergency and the 1984 violence against Sikhs, she said those who speak about democracy today should first answer questions about their own past and the events that unfolded under their leadership.
According to the Chief Minister, the Hari Nagar march was an effort to give voice to the grief of thousands of families who lost their loved ones in 1984 and to seek justice for them.
Harsh Malhotra called the 1984 Sikh genocide a well-planned conspiracy by the Congress. He alleged that Congress leaders took to the streets themselves, identified Sikh homes and aided the massacre.
He said the roles of several Congress leaders, including H.K.L. Bhagat and Sajjan Kumar, had emerged in connection with the incident. He added that Sikhs were subjected to massacre continuously for 72 hours.
Malhotra also targeted Rahul Gandhi, saying that by organising a programme on the anniversary of the 1984 genocide, Gandhi was deliberately rubbing salt into the wounds of victims' families. He stated that the SIT set up under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ensured that the guilty of the 1984 genocide were punished.
Malhotra announced that a march would be held near Gurudwara Bangla Sahib on Monday. Participants will visit the memorial built in memory of the 1984 genocide at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and pay homage to the martyrs.
Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said Rahul Gandhi was following his father's path by playing politics over the 1984 Sikh genocide.
Arvinder Singh Lovely, BJP leader and chairman of the Yamuna Vikas Board, said that on November 1, 1984, law and order had vanished not just in Delhi but across the entire nation.
Senior advocate Sardar H.S. Phoolka, who led a long legal fight to deliver justice to victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh violence, said the cruel killing of retired soldiers and 51 serving soldiers in 1984 was extremely serious and unfortunate.
BJP Rajya Sabha member Vikramjit Singh Sahney said that several members of his own family had been killed during the violence.
Delhi minister Ashish Sood said the images shown by Rahul Gandhi and Congress leaders at their press conference, along with the mindset that fuels arson and anarchy, were deeply concerning.