Why was Manmohan silent over 1984 attack, asks advocate

Senior advocate H.S. Phoolka Sunday questioned why former prime minister Manmohan Singh kept quiet about his house being attacked during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the capital.

In a release sent to the media, Phoolka, who is the petitioner in a host of 1984 riots cases, said: "Shocking revelation has come out in the interview of Daman Singh, daughter of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, on a TV channel with Karan Thapar."

"She has revealed that during the 1984 riots, the house of Manmohan Singh in Ashok Vihar was attacked. The mob had almost burnt the house when Manmohan Singh's son-in-law saved it from burning. She has also disclosed that Manmohan Singh's family knew the people in the mob," he said.

Daman Singh was apparently giving the interview to coincide with the release of her new book "Strictly Personal: Manmohan and Gursharan".

"What is most shocking that Manmohan Singh, when he was prime minister for 10 years, kept silent on this incident," Phoolka said.

"Though Manmohan Singh's house was not burnt, but in the same area, the mob, most probably the same mob, killed seven Sikhs, burnt four gurdwaras, burnt five houses, burnt seven shops, burnt 42 vehicles and also burnt 31 factories," he claimed.