On Sajjan Kumar verdict, Jaitley attacks Cong for choosing Kamal Nath as CM

It is an irony that the verdict on anti-Sikh riots has come on a day when a Congress chief minister, who is held culpable by the Sikh community, is taking oath, says Arun Jaitley

BJP leader Arun Jaitley Monday welcomed the conviction of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riot case and also took a swipe at the opposition party for choosing Kamal Nath as Madhya Pradesh chief minister, claiming that Sikhs consider him "culpable" in the violence against the community.

Kamal Nath, who took oath as chief minister of the central Indian state on Monday, has always denied any role in the riots against Sikhs following the assassination of Indira Gandhi in October 1984.

The Congress has maintained that due process of law is being followed and the issue should not be politicised.

Jaitley dubbed Kumar, who was convicted by the Delhi High Court in a 1984 riots case and sentenced him to imprisonment for life, a "symbol" of the anti-Sikh "genocide" and said the country had never seen murders on a bigger scale than this.

He also alleged that the Congress and its ruling Gandhi family were involved in a "cover-up".

The decision may be delayed but at least the process of justice has started, he said, hoping that there will be more verdicts as many cases are being heard on a day to day basis.

"It is an irony that the verdict has come on a day when a Congress chief minister, who is held culpable by the Sikh community, is taking oath," Jaitley told reporters in an apparent reference to Nath.

A commission appointed by a Congress government gave a clean chit to the then dispensation, and it was the Nanavati commission constituted by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government of the BJP-led NDA that collated riot cases police station vise, Jaitley said.

The Narendra Modi government formed the Mathur committee and a SIT was later constituted to reinvestigate many riots cases, the Union Finance minister said.

Convicting Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, the Delhi High Court said the riots were a "crime against humanity" perpetrated by those who enjoyed "political patronage".

Congress leaders on Monday said the conviction of Sajjan Kumar by the Delhi High Court in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case should not be politicised and the law should take its own course.