1984 anti- Sikh riot grant: Association seeks clarification from Home Minister Rajnath Singh over selection

Seeking a clarification from Home Minister Rajnath Singh as to how he selected just 1020 families for granting rehabilitation of Rs 2 lakh each to them, the Riot Victims’ Association Wednesday claimed the figure was much more than this. The association has also threatened to stage a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar if the Centre does not re-open the 247 old files relating to the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims within a month.

The association members stated that while there were over 27,000 red card holders in Punjab the NDA government has chosen only 1,020 families. “We have written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh and state home minister Sukhbir Singh Badal seeking clarification on this issue. We have asked them to include every single family in the scheme,” said Surjit Singh president of the association. “We are giving one month ultimatum to the state and Centre for re-opening the 247 files related to the 1984 riots which were closed by the UPA government. When the NDA government came to power they had promised to re-open the files. The relief grant of Rs 2 lakh is not justified as a similar grant was given by Manmohan Singh in 2006,” Singh said.

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