AAP does a U-turn on 1984 Rajiv Gandhi resolution

The party seemed divided over the issue in the House. Pic/PTI

Hours after unanimously passing a resolution, urging the Central government to withdraw Bharat Ratna conferred upon former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi over his comments after the 1984 Sikh riots, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has done a complete U-turn. The party is now claiming the draft of resolution didn't have a mention of the former PM's name - understandably to keep the alliance options open with the Congress for 2019.

"Lines about late Rajiv Gandhi were not part of resolution placed before the House and distributed to the members. One MLA, in his handwriting, proposed an addition about him. Amendments cannot be passed in this manner," AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said. Bharadwaj said MLA Somnath Bharti had added the lines in the resolution which stands passed in the Assembly.

MLA Jarnail Singh, who moved the motion inside the Assembly, confirmed that a demand of striping Rajiv Gandhi of Bharat Ratna was indeed mentioned in the document. "Rajiv Gandhi had said 'the Earth shakes when a big tree falls', justifying the killings of thousands of Sikhs. We want the government to take back the Bharat Ratna from him," Singh told the media after the resolution was passed.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever