NEW DELHI: AAP on Thursday termed as “indication of Congress’ acceptance of defeat in Punjab” the resignation of senior Congress leader Kamal Nath as in-charge of the state and demanded registration of an FIR against him in the Gurudwara Rakabganj Sahib incident in which two Sikhs were burnt to death during the 1984 riots.
“After AAP’s continuous pressure, Congress had to sack Kamal Nath,” AAP’s Delhi unit convenor Dilip Pandey claimed, adding that the party had given Congress a deadline to take action against its leader or face protests.
Mr Nath’s resignation was an indication of “acceptance of Congress’ defeat” in Punjab, he said.
With controversy surrounding his appointment, Mr Nath quit as party in-charge of poll-bound Punjab yesterday in view of a “canard” regarding the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
He wrote a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi who immediately accepted his resignation and relieved him of his charge of Punjab as party General Secretary.
AAP leader HS Phoolka, who has been fighting for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims, claimed Nath’s role had never been investigated.
“The law states that if any member of an unlawful assembly commits a crime, then every member should be investigated. Kamal Nath has admitted in his affidavit that he was present at the site on November 1, 1984.”
“Two Sikhs were killed in the incident, so Kamal Nath is also responsible for it as he was their leader. This is an insult to the law. By merely tendering resignation does not absolve Kamal Nath of the charges and he should be tried for murder and charge sheet should be filed at the earliest,” Mr Phoolka said.
Attacking Punjab PCC chief Amarinder Singh, AAP Rajouri Garden lawmaker Jarnail Singh said the former Punjab chief minister had claimed that Sajjan Kumar’s name had cropped up in the 1984-anti Sikh riots case, then why is he still in the party?
“If you are saying Sajjan Kumar was also there, then why is he still in the party? Why is Kamal Nath still in the party? If Amarinder is still in Congress then either he should resign or Sajjan Kumar should be sacked. There should not be any double standard,” Jarnail Singh said.
He asked, “what did Mr Nath do as a senior Congress leader to save the two Sikhs?”
“He was directly involved in the Rakabganj incident. The SIT should include this case? Why is Kamal Nath still the general secretary of Congress? Why is Jagdish Tytler still a member of Congress Working Committee and Sajjan Kumar still the member of the party?” Jarnail Singh asked.
PTI