No role in 1984 riots, ready for probe: Kamal Nath
New Delhi, June 16
Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath rejected reports that he was asked to step down as the General Secretary in charge of party affairs in Punjab, saying he quit to ensure that attention was not “diverted from the issues affecting the state”.
He rubbished reports that said Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked him to quit.
"I called Rahul Gandhi and told him I am sending the letter...I read him the letter. He told me to send it to the Congress President...I called Sonia Gandhi and told her that this is in the interest of the party and we should not let them use this politics," he said, adding that Gandhi understood his motivations.
He also said he was willing to cooperate with investigations into his alleged role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
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"There has been SIT (Special Investigation Team) probe, the (Ranganath) Misra Commission inquiry, (GT) Nanavati Commission inquiry. I am ready to face any other probe, including that of the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation)," Nath said in an interview to a news channel.
"There was no mention of my name (in the anti-Sikh riots) for many years... no statement from any quarter or any individual accusing me of involvement... then someone approached the Nanavati Commission to probe my role. The commission exonerated me of all charges," Nath added.
The GT Nanavati Commission was set up by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in 2000 to inquire into the 1984 anti-Sikh violence that broke out in Delhi after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.
On the charges levelled against him by senior lawyer and Aam Aadmi Party leader HS Phoolka, Kamal Nath said: "Where was Phoolka all these years? Why did he not file an FIR or a case against me? Why is he making the allegations now, despite the Nanavati Commission exonerating me of all charges?" The Congress leader elected to the Lok Sabha from Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh said it was his own decision to quit as in-charge of the party affairs in Punjab and nobody asked him to.
"It was my own decision to quit in the party's interest. I did not want this inconsequential issue (of his alleged involvement in the anti-Sikh violence) to overshadow more important and relevant issues in Punjab today." Kamal Nath said, "The real issues in Punjab are misgovernance, drug menace, the flight of youth from the state for lack of opportunities and employment, et al. I resigned as Punjab in-charge lest public attention was diverted from these issues." On his presence outside Delhi Gurdwara Rakabganj on November 1, 1984, Kamal Nath said he has never denied it.
"I was present there because I was asked by my party to reach there. There was a mob outside the gurdwara. I tried to stop them from attacking it. The police had requested me to control the mob till their reinforcements arrived," the Congress leader maintained.
‘Respect his decision’
Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh defended Nath and said it was unfortunate that rival parties tried to harm the Congress by “raking up the issue”.
“Kamal Nath has taken his own decision. He felt hurt that his name was being dragged. He decided to resign as his image was being tarnished.”
"I think he would have been an excellent general secretary as he has a lot of experience and is very decisive. It is a great shame for us that this issue has been raised by people only to harm the Congress party (by keeping Nath out)," he told reporters.
"I thanked him saying this is a very gracious thing that he has done by doing this. He would have made a very good general secretary for us, but these people are pointing fingers at anyone as they are desperate," he said.
Asked if this affected the party's prospects, he said, "Nothing". "Even if Kamal Nath would have been there as in-charge, there would have been nothing on the party. There would have been nothing. Things have changed," he said.
The opposition has, on the contrary, accused Kamal Nath of instigating the mob outside the gurdwara.
Leaders of rival parties demanded criminal action against the leader.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, the patriarch of the Shriromani Akali Dal patriarch, said Nath’s exit "vindicated" the stand of his party that 1984 Sikh carnage was a "deep rooted conspiracy" of Congress party to "butcher of innocent" Sikhs.
"Kamal Nath was reluctant to accept this post because of his guilty consciousness' owing to his role in massacre of thousands of innocent Sikhs," Badal alleged on the sidelines of Sangat Darshan programme in Malout Assembly constituency.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is trying to make inroads into the state in the next year's Assembly elections, also joined the attack and demanded that an FIR be registered against Kamal Nath in the Gurudwara Rakabganj Sahib in which two Sikhs were burnt to death in 1984.
"Two Sikhs were killed in the incident. So Kamal Nath is also responsible for it as he was their leader. This is an insult to the law.
"By merely tendering resignation does not absolve Kamal Nath from the charges and he should be tried for murder and chargesheet should be filed at the earliest," said AAP leader and lawyer Phoolka, who has been fighting for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims, said, adding that Nath had never been investigated. — Agencies
