Akalis, AAP protest in Punjab over 1984 riots

Targetting the then Congress leadership for its alleged complicity in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) held protests on Thursday.

The AAP protest in Mohali, adjoining Chandigarh, saw senior party leaders highlighting what they said was Congress leaders' role in the riots in which hundreds of Sikhs were killed in various cities, including national capital Delhi, and the suffering of affected families who were awaiting justice even 32 years after the riots.

The 'Insaaf 84' (Justice 1984) protest was addressed by AAP Punjab convenor Gurpreet Singh and lawyer-activist and AAP leader H.S. Phoolka.

The AAP leaders accused the Congress of shielding its leaders like Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler in the riots cases.

They said the Akali Dal was using the riots' victims for political mileage before 2017 assembly elections and did nothing to get them justice.

The Akali Dal's protests were held in Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar.

Party leaders said the Congress was shielding its leaders who instigated rioters for over three decades.

The anti-Sikh riots broke out after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards in New Delhi on October 31, 1984.

--IANS

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