‘Gujarat riots were backed by BJP Govt, Cong had no role in ‘84 riots’

• The Congress went hammer and tongs at the Modi Government for the Godhra riots. Now, it has gone and given tickets to people like Saj...

• The Congress went hammer and tongs at the Modi Government for the Godhra riots. Now, it has gone and given tickets to people like Sajjan Kumar etc. Doesn’t this smack of double standards?
A Roy

The two cases are very different. In case of the Gujarat riots, the government itself had sponsored, motivated and decided the riots. The official machinery of the State was used to conduct the riots to wipe out a community from Gujarat. The 1984 riots were a spontaneous reaction to the assasination of Indira Gandhi. Both cases are entirely different and therefore there is no comparison. Moreover, in the case of Gujarat, Muslims were not only shooed away from Gujarat but were also not able to come back to their homes ever. People in Delhi, after the 1984 riots, were not only able to come back to their homes but were also given compensation.

• In the trial of the ’84 riots cases, many eyewitnesses have turned hostile, after first identifying HKL Bhagat and Sajjan Kumar as the instigators. If the Supreme Court could order a retrial of the Best Bakery case outside Gujarat, shouldn’t the ’84 cases also be tried outside Delhi?
D S Kanade

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If anyone wants the Supreme Court to do so, then he or she first needs to move the court for this. If the Supreme Court then decides that injustice has been done and the cases have not been tried in all fairness, then it can decided to try the cases outside Delhi. Nothing can be said without that.

• If the BJP has the Gujarat riots, the Congress has the ’84 anti-Sikh riots. So what is different?
Kumar

The Gujarat riots were designed, structured and motivated by the Gujarat Government itself. People were killed and those responsible for it have not been either punished or tried. In case of the 1984 riots, the government played no part in killing people. It happened as a reaction to the assasination of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.

• Considering that India is home to so many learned and experienced leaders, why is the Congress willing to let the country be ruled by Sonia Gandhi, who, although an Indian citizen, is an Italian by birth.
Vasu

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The question of citizenship has been decided by the Court and the voters. Whether Sonia Gandhi is an Indian or not was decided by the voters in the last elections when she defeated Sushma Swaraj. The janta has given its final verdict.

• Does the Congress feel apologetic about the 1984 riots?
M Rawat

How many times does the Congress need to apologise for the 1984 riots? The Sikhs are supporting us and we have said that we are sorry.