Minister wants Rajiv Gandhi punished posthumously for anti-Sikh riots

Anil Vij. Pic/YouTube

Chandigarh: Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij kicked up a new controversy on Monday when he demanded that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi should be "punished posthumously" so that families of about 3,400 Sikhs, who died in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, get justice.

In his tweet, Vij said that the Delhi High Court has sentenced Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, who was one of the accused of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, to life imprisonment. "This has provided little relief to affected Sikh families, but justice will be delivered when Rajiv Gandhi will be punished. Then Rajiv Gandhi had supported the massacre by saying 'Jab koi bada ped girta hai to dharti hilti hai'," Vij, who is a senior BJP leader in Haryana, said in his tweet in Hindi.

The Minister, who is known for making controversial comments, said that along with the "Bharat Ratna" conferred on Rajiv Gandhi, all other honours should be withdrawn from him. Vij also demanded that Rajiv Gandhi's name should be removed from all the schemes being run after his name. He said not only one or two persons but the entire Congress Party is guilty of the massacre of thousands of Sikhs. "Justice is incomplete until everyone gets sentenced," he added.

Haryana has a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government since October 2014. The Delhi High Court on Monday convicted Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case and sentenced him to imprisonment for life.

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