BJP demands Kamal Nath's sacking after 1984 anti-Sikh riots verdict

Hailing the conviction of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riot case, the BJP Monday demanded the removal of Kamal Nath as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister who they alleged was involved in the riots.

The demand came on a day when Nath took oath as the state's 18th chief minister, while Kumar was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court.

"The way Delhi High Court verdict has come indicting Sajjan Kumar, it is very clear that it is not an order against Sajjan Kumar but an order against the Congress party," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters here.

"Look at the double face of the Congress party. Only today the Congress has made him (Kamal Nath) the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi should immediately remove him from his position," Patra added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader alleged that the Nanavati Commission, constituted by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to probe the riots, had named Nath with evidence.

Patra also sought Rahul Gandhi's resignation as the party president as the judgment was also against the Congress, which, he alleged, had shielded the accused for decades.

While Sajjan Kumar has been imprisoned for life, "Gandhi has been imprisoned in his own conscience as it will continuously prick him all through his life, that his party members massacred thousands of Sikhs and he kept quiet," he said.

"I want to tell Rahul Gandhi to listen to your conscience and resign as the Congress chief," Patra demanded.

On the issue of Rafale fighter jet deal, Patra said truth had triumphed after the Supreme Court set aside the PILs challenging the deal between India and France for procurement of 36 fighter jets.

The BJP leader said the PILs were "Politically Inclined Litigations".

"Rahul Gandhi has lied through his teeth on the Rafale issue. The three Supreme Court judges in their 29-page judgment have categorically concluded that they did not find any reason for any intervention by the court after its findings in all three aspects and having heard the matter in detail," Patra said.

The three allegations, Patra said, were faulty pricing, faulty procurement and commercial favouritism benefiting industrialist Anil Ambani.

Patra said the three charges were rejected by the top court which also examined the pricing details and did not find anything wrong.