Cong backs probe into ’84 riots
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Dec 9 — After a day’s silence, the Congress today came out strongly in support of Mr Advani’s suggestion yesterday that Centre to set up a new commission of inquiry into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The Congress change of stand came with Mr Jagmeet Singh Brar, Lok Sabha MP from Faridkot, taking a lead in the issue by raising it during zero hour in the Lok Sabha today.

Mr Brar, whose meeting with the Congress President led to today’s stand, said that the Congress welcomed the setting up a new commission.

Mr Brar found support from five other party MPs from Punjab including Mr Charanjit Singh Channi, Mr Balbir Singh, Mr Shamsher Singh ‘Dullo”, Mrs Parneet Kaur and Mrs Santosh Chaudhary.

The MPs also wanted the Centre to institute a probe to find out who supported terrorism and harboured militants in the State.

Apparently, Mr Jagmeet Brar who had been in the forefront of raising the issue even during his earlier stint, convinced Congress President Sonia Gandhi during his meeting with her today.

Mr Brar later told TNS that he took up the issue with Mrs Gandhi after reading reports that the party did not respond when the matter came up in the Rajya Sabha.

He saw no reason for the Congress to shy away from the issue. “When there has been no action even after three non-Congress Prime Ministers have been in power since 1996, why should we have problem. In any case the Congress President had already expressed regrets during an election rally in 1998’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the BJP today questioned the silence of the Congress on the demand.

“I would like to know the reason for the silence of the Congress on the demand raised in Rajya Sabha yesterday” the BJP spokesman Mr Venkaiah Naidu said.