NEW DELHI, Nov 1: The BJP on Sunday staged a protest march in Delhi, demanding an apology from the Congress and Rahul Gandhi for the 1984 anti-Sikh violence. The party also criticised the Congress for organising its rally on November 1, describing the decision as insensitive towards the victims and their families.
The BJP said the wounds of the Sikh community remained unhealed and accused the opposition party of disregarding the sentiments of those affected by the violence.
The protest took place alongside the INDIA bloc’s gathering at Ramlila Maidan, where opposition leaders raised concerns over Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and alleged irregularities in the electoral process.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri led the BJP march through the Sikh-dominated areas of Hari Nagar and Tilak Nagar in west Delhi. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, state BJP president Harsh Malhotra, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and senior Supreme Court advocate H S Phoolka were among those who joined the demonstration, along with several Sikh community leaders.
Addressing the gathering before the march, Puri described the 1984 violence as a premeditated massacre rather than a spontaneous outbreak of riots.
Recalling the events, he said he was in Geneva when the violence erupted, while his parents were in Delhi. He credited his Hindu friends for protecting his family during the turbulent period.
Citing official figures, Puri said 2,733 Sikhs were killed in Delhi during the violence. He maintained that the incidents amounted to genocide and a crime against humanity, adding that Congress leaders needed to reflect on their party’s responsibility.
He also recalled an incident involving former prime minister Manmohan Singh, claiming that attackers who reached his residence were turned away after his Hindu son-in-law told them that he lived there.
Questioning the INDIA bloc’s decision to hold its political programme on November 1, Puri said the opposition could have selected another date for the gathering.
He argued that the country and the Sikh community had still not recovered from the tragedy and that the Congress had not offered an adequate apology to the victims. Holding a political rally on the anniversary, he said, was therefore inappropriate.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who wore a black headband during the demonstration, shared an account of how a Sikh neighbour had taken refuge at her parents’ home during the violence.
She said the situation had become so dangerous that many Sikhs were forced to cut their hair to conceal their identities and protect themselves.
Gupta questioned the Congress leadership’s claims of upholding democratic values, saying the events of November 1984 represented a grave assault on humanity and the democratic principles the party now invoked.
Targeting the Gandhi family, she said neither the Congress nor its leadership could evade accountability for the suffering inflicted on the Sikh community.
Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra accused Rahul Gandhi of deliberately scheduling the Congress rally on the anniversary of the violence, alleging that the move had reopened painful memories for survivors and affected families.
He also referred to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s controversial remark following the violence: “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.”
Speakers at the protest recalled that attacks on Sikhs began on October 31, 1984, following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi, and continued until November 3, leaving thousands dead and many families devastated.