SGPC, Sikh leaders demand strict punishment for former Cong MP

Sikh organisations and leaders have welcomed the conviction of former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case and demanded a strict punishment for him.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami said the court decision would heal sentiments of the Sikhs. He demanded that the Centre should ensure fast-track trial in all such cases across the country.

“It was the height of cruelty against humanity in the world’s largest democracy, the victims of which are still struggling to get justice,” he said. He demanded that a resolution of condolence and apology for the Sikh genocide should be passed in Parliament.

“Now that Sajjan Kumar has been found guilty, he should be given exemplary punishment. Other Congress leaders involved in the ‘Sikh genocide’ should also be given severe punishment,” the SGPC president added.

Welcoming the court decision, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Harmeet Singh Kalka and general secretary Jagdip Singh Kahlon said though the decision had come 41 years after the riots, it was surely a big relief for the Sikh community.

“The DSGMC has played a big role in this case. It got statements of victims/witnesses recorded in the court despite huge pressure. We urge the court to award capital punishment to the guilty on February 18,” Kalka said.

Union Minister of State Railway and Food Processing Industries Ravneet Singh Bittu said, “Today, the pain of Sikhs was relieved. I must thank PM Narendra Modi who reopened the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases that were shut by the Congress government. I hope more such cases will be reopened in the coming days. I also thank SC lawyer HS Phulka who stood by the victims’ families.”

BJP MLA from Rajouri Garden in New Delhi Manjinder Singh Sirsa said Sajjan Kumar should now face death penalty or life imprisonment. “The Congress has been sheltering the culprits,” he said.