NEW DELHI: Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal has asked the Centre to set up a new committee to “find out the real reason” behind the 1984 Sikh Genocide.
Badal raised this demand in a meeting with the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday, saying the “role of politicians and officials” should be probed afresh. “We have asked (the central government) to form a committee to find out the real reason for the riots.
The third genocide — Operation Bluestar — was committed at Harmandar Sahib in Amritsar. The last two were committed during the Congress rule, he added.
“The massacre was orchestrated by political leaders. Those involved in the conspiracy and killings were given security by the then government. It further rubbed salt into the wounds of the Sikh community by giving ministries to the politicians and promoting guilty police officers,” Badal said.
He asked the government to rehabilitate the victims.
“In November 1984, the government forgot the sacrifice of the community during the freedom struggle. They were killed for no fault of theirs,” Badal said.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said the community could not forget the killing of Sikhs. “It was perhaps the first time in our history that a government killed its own citizens. The Congress has always tried to divide the Sikh community to weaken it. Its best example can be seen in Haryana where a separate gurdwara committee has been constituted,” said Sukhbir Badal.