SAD demands spl assembly sitting to pass resolution on revocation of Rajiv Gandhi's Bharat Ratna

The opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday demanded that a special sitting of the Punjab Assembly be convened to pass a resolution for revocation of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's Bharat Ratna.

The demand comes amid a controversy in New Delhi over a reference to Gandhi during adoption of a resolution on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the assembly.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed that the AAP made a U-turn hours after passing a resolution in the Delhi Assembly demanding withdrawal of Gandhi's Bharat Ratna on Friday.

He urged Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to convene a special sitting of the Vidhan Sabha to pass a resolution seeking revocation of the Bharat Ratna conferred on Gandhi.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have "exposed" themselves by first passing a resolution against Gandhi and then making an "about turn" by claiming that it was not passed, Badal said in a statement issued here.

The AAP's "lies on this issue proved that it was "in league" with the Congress, he alleged.

The Congress forced Kejriwal to withdraw the resolution within hours of it being passed in the Delhi Assembly. This proves beyond doubt that the AAP is the "B team" of the Congress and all the noises it made about ensuring justice to victims of the 1984 riots were lies aimed at deceiving the Sikh community, Badal alleged.

The AAP's Punjab unit should now clarify whether it supported Gandhi and the actions of his sycophants who indulged in murder and mayhem against Sikhs in Delhi, the statement quoted Badal as saying.

The chief minister should make clare whether the Congress' state unit would respect the sentiments of Punjabis and bring a resolution demanding withdrawal of the Bharat Ratna conferred on Gandhi, he said.

This is of utmost importance as it will show how serious the Punjab Congress is in sending across a message that anyone who justifies genocide does not deserve the country's highest honour, he said.

The SAD will not only support this resolution but will also make an appeal that it be passed unanimously to send out a clear message that crimes against humanity have no place in society, Badal said.

In Delhi, Senior AAP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, however, said "no resolution mentioning late Rajiv Gandhi has been passed".

He also rejected party MLA Alka Lamba's claim Kejriwal had sought her resignation for not supporting the resolution in the Assembly on revoking Gandhi's Bharat Ratna.