AAP not against Rajiv Gandhi's Bharat Ratna: Manish Sisodia

A day after the Delhi Legislative Assembly passed a resolution to revoke Bharat Ratna conferred to late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi over 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia clarified that it was not the stand of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

"We are not of the view that Bharat Ratna should be taken back from Rajiv Gandhi," said Sisodia.

"The resolution was distributed both in English and Hindi to all MLAs before it was read by Jarnail Singh. The resolution that was placed on the table of the house or the resolution that was distributed doesn't have any sentence about former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi," clarified AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj.

According to AAP, MLA Somnath Bharti introduced the Rajiv Gandhi line in his own handwriting in the resolution copy that he possessed and passed it to Jarnail Singh who then read it.

"Somnath Bharti had written one sentence on Rajiv Gandhi with pen on the copy of the resolution he had and subsequently passed it to Jarnail Singh. When Jarnail Singh read that resolution he also read the amendment proposed by Bharti," said Bhardwaj.

AAP clarified that no such resolution was passed as the amendment was not placed in front of the Speaker and members of the house.

"To pass amendment in any resolution, it is first placed before the Speaker and then it is placed before all the legislators of the house as an amendment which is then put to vote separately and then passed," said Bhardwaj.

The issue turned controversial in the midst of allegations that on the second day of the special session of Delhi Assembly on Friday, AAP had tabled the proposal of revoking the Bharat Ratna awarded to Rajiv Gandhi in view of the killing of Sikhs in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Jarnail Singh reportedly mentioned Rajiv Gandhi's name in the Assembly and while elaborating on the resolution, demanded that the Bharat Ratna to the former Prime Minister be withdrawn for "justifying anti-Sikh riots".