Pitroda apologises, says statement on anti-Sikh riots blown out of proportion

Under attack over his remarks "happened, so what" on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Congress leader Sam Pitroda on Friday apologised for that saying they were blown out of proportion because his Hindi is not good.

His apology came after BJP leaders, Sikh groups and Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked Pitroada. The prime minister even said it should not be taken as views of an individual but of the Congress party which was arrogant on the issue from the beginning. Congress also distanced itself from his remarks.

"The statement I made was completely twisted, taken out of context because my Hindi is not good, what I meant was 'jo hua vo bura hua,' (what happened was bad), I could not translate 'bura' (bad) in my mind," Pitroda, a confidant of Congress President Rahul Gandhi said.

"What I meant was move on. We have other issues to discuss as to what BJP government did and what it delivered. I feel sorry that my remark was misrepresented, I apologise. This has been blown out of proportion," he told reporters.

Earlier in the day, BJP activists staged a protest outside the residence of the Congress chief in the national capital against Pitroda's remark.

On Thursday, BJP, citing the Nanavati Commission report, had said "instructions to kill" came directly from then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's office.

In response to this, Pitroda, while rubbishing the allegations, yesterday said, "I don't think so, this is also another lie, and what about 1984? You speak about what you have done in five years. It happened in 1984, so what? (1984 hua toh hua). What have you done? (Ab kya hai '84 ka? Aapne kya kiya 5 saal mein, uski baat kariye. '84 mein hua to hua.