PM apologises for 1984 riots

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today apologised to members of Parliament and the nation for the killing of over 4,000 Sikhs in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984.

"I have no hesitation in apologising to not only the Sikh community but also to the nation. I bow my head in shame that such a thing happened," the Prime Minister said.

Intervening in a discussion on an Opposition-sponsored motion in the Rajya Sabha on modifications to the government's action-taken report, the Prime Minister said he had seen statements by Opposition leaders that he should seek forgiveness of the country.

The BJP had been demanding that he personally apologise for the way the government had handled the Nanavati Commission report""with particular reference to Congress leaders like Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar.

The Prime Minister repeated to the members of the Upper House what he had said in the Lok Sabha yesterday.

He said in accordance with public perception and sentiments expressed by MPs, the government had decided to proceed against those named in the Nanavati report. After the statement in the Lok Sabha yesterday, NRI Affairs Minister Jagdish Tytler had tendered his resignation.

"A valued colleague has tended his resignation. It has been accepted," the Prime Minister said in the Rajya Sabha today. The government would heed the Nanavati Commission's direction in "reopening" and "re-examining" the cases of police officers who neglected their duty in containing the mob, he said.

He promised to the House that rehabilitation of the widows and orphans of the 1984 riots was a solemn obligation of the government and that the government would make sure that they had the chance to lead life with dignity.

In a speech littered with poetry and excerpts from the Guru Granth Sahib, the Prime Minister said the Sikh community had contributed immeasurably to the nation and that a brave people such as the Sikhs should be helped to get over the trauma of 1984.

The Prime Minister said that the events of 1984 should be viewed from a wider perspective that the past could not be brought back, could not be undone. "But let us, as a united nation, find new pathways to ensure that our nation will never again go through such traumas, whether they are in Delhi or in Gujarat or in any part of the country," he said.

Singh said, "All of us should ask forgiveness of those who have suffered in this tragedy."

Hitting back at the Opposition, Singh said the Nanavati report conclusively stated that "there is no evidence, whatsoever, against the top leadership of the Congress. That lie, which has over the last 21 years been used to poison the minds of the Sikh youth, stands nailed conclusively".

Referring to some individuals mentioned in the report, he said the commission has not come forward with conclusive conclusions. "These are in the realm of probabilities".

About some police officers against whom the atr had made a mention, he said there was a normal rule that action could be taken against government officers four years after retirement.

"Many of them retired many, many years ago. But within the ambit of law, whatever action we can take, we will reopen those cases also if the law of the land permits that," he said.