1984 anti-Sikh riots could have been avoided, says Manmohan Singh
Former PM Manmohan Singh said the 1984 anti-Sikh riots could have been avoided if the then home minister PV Narasimha Rao had called the army to intervene to stop the violence
NEW DELHI : Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the anti-Sikh riots in 1984 could have been avoided if then home minister P.V. Narasimha Rao had called the army to intervene to stop the violence.
I.K. Gujral, who was the prime minister in 1997-98, had told Rao ahead of the 1984 riots that the situation was grave, Singh said at a function in New Delhi on Wednesday to mark Gujral’s centenary birth anniversary.
“When the sad event of ’84 took place, I.K. Gujralji went to the then home minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and told him the situation is so grave that it’s necessary for the government to call army at the earliest. If that advice had been heeded, perhaps the 1984 massacre could have been avoided," Singh said.
Hundreds of people were killed in the anti-Sikh riots that followed the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984 by her bodyguards. Many Congress leaders are facing allegations of leading mobs to attack Sikhs.
Rao’s family members criticized Singh’s statements. “As a family member, I feel saddened by this statement by Dr Manmohan Singh. It’s unacceptable. Can any home minister take an independent decision without the cabinet’s approval? If the army had been called, it would have been a disaster," said Rao’s grandson and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader N.V. Subash.
Singh’s words were also criticized by the BJP and its ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
“Ordering the army to tackle any issue is the prime minister’s prerogative and Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister at the time. He had said that whenever a big tree falls, the earth shakes," said Prakash Javadekar, minister of environment, forest and climate change.
Senior SAD leaders said that Singh is hinting that the Congress should introspect on the role of some of its senior leaders during the anti-Sikh riots.
“I congratulate former PM Manmohan Singh for being so honest and candid. I have narrated this incident several times in Parliament. There was a conspiracy at the behest of Congress and the former home minister did not act. No less than former PM has now spoken about it," said Naresh Gujral, senior SAD leader and I.K. Gujral’s son.
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