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1984 comes back to haunt the Congress : PM forced to apologise

	August 15, 2005

Last week was marked by totally inept handling by the UPA Government of the Nanavati Commission Report which went into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots which followed the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. On Monday, August 8, the Manmohan Singh Government presented the report to Parliament along with an action taken report (ATR) which critics dubbed as “No-action taken report.”

The strong public reaction to the attempt to push under the carpet, whatever had been brought out by Justice G.T. Nanavati, was not foreseen even by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and the Left parties supporting the Manmohan Singh Government from outside. On the day the report was presented in Parliament, the BJP simply said that it is a “whitewash” while the Left parties said that they will react after studying the Commission’s findings and the ATR.

It was only on Tuesday, August 9, when newspapers came out with full reports of the way in which the Government had tried to avoid any action against those found guilty by the Nanavati Commission that the Left and the BJP decided to go whole hog to corner the Government on its attempt to bury the report. The public outrage at the Government’s attempt to turn the law on its head to shield local leaders of the Congress in the national capital could not be ignored any further. Proceedings of both Houses of Parliament were disrupted with the Opposition insisting on the Government coming out with tough action against those indicted in the Commission report. There were also demands for the resignation of Union Minister Jagidsh Tytler and of the Prime Minister himself for shielding the guilty.

Despite the strong public reaction to the Commission report, the Centre defended its decision as indicated in the Action Taken Report not to go ahead with the prosecution of Jagdish Tytler as it said that he could not be proceeded against on “mere probability” of his involvement. The ATR also indicated that there would be no further inquiry or commission on the anti-Sikh riots.



Justice Nanavati unhappy with ATR

In a significant development, Justice G.T. Nanavati expressed dissatisfaction with the action taken report tabled by the Government along with his two volume report on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

“ATR is not to my satisfaction. It is to tell Parliament what action has been taken by the Government on the recommendations of the Commission,” he told reporters.

On the indictment of Tytler, he said there was no reason to disbelieve the person who had deposed before the Commission against the Union Minister. “But I have said he was very probably involved in the riots because the evidence against ;him was not conclusive. That is why I recommended further probe,” Justice Nanawati added. He said that there was no political pressure on the Commission and it had functioned independently.

Justice Nanavati said the riots took place in an “organised manner” and there was no need for Sikhs to name so many Congress leaders unless they were really involved. He maintained that local Congress leaders were in some way “involved” with the riots and further probe was needed in this regard.

He also alleged “police failure” saying so many people would not have died in three days if the police had taken action.

Observing that riots cannot be prevented, he suggested that there should be quick action by the police and intelligence should be strengthened to minimise the damage.



Demonstrations all over the country, Govt. relents

The public outrage over the Commission report and the way in which the Government had handled the issue, led to demonstrations in Delhi and several other parts of the country, including Punjab, to demand justice for the 1984 riot victims. Once the contours of the public reaction became known, the political parties also threw their hats in the ring and demanded tough action against those indicted by the Nanavati Commission. The Left parties and the BJP vied with each other to demand the sacking of Jagdish Tytler and others.

Seeing the writing on the wall, the Government retraced its action in pushing the Nanavati Commission report under the carpet with the Prime Minister himself coming out with a statement in Parliament - in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday and in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, apologising to the Nation for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Manmohan Singh said that he was not standing on any false prestige and bowed his head in shame.

Assuring action against those named in the Justice Nanavati Commission report, Singh said Indira Gandhi’s assassination was a “great national tragedy” and “what happened subsequently was “equally shameful.”

Intervening in the discussion on the opposition-sponsored motion, he told the Rajya Sabha, “I am not standing on any false prestige. On behalf of our Government, on behalf of the entire people of this country, I bow my head in shame that such a thing took place.”

Home Minister Shivraj Patil replied to the discussion and the motion moved by Rajnath Singh (BJP) was rejected by the House.

The Prime Minister said he had seen statements by opposition leaders that he should seek the country’s forgiveness. “I have no hesitation in apologising to the Sikh community,” he said. “I apologise not only to the Sikh community, but to the whole Indian nation because what took place in 1984 is the negation of the concept of nationhood enshrined in our Constitution.”



Jagdish Tytler quits

The Prime Minister had a meeting with Jagdish Tytler where the question of his quitting the Government is reported to have come up. Tytler resigned from the Council of Ministers on Wednesday night, within hours of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assurance to the Lok Sabha that he would act against Congress leaders who have come in for adverse comments in the Nanavati Commission’s report.

Tytler submitted his resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi during a meeting at her 10 Janpath residence after a day-long Lok Sabha debate on the Commission’s findings. In his intervention, the Prime Minister had conceded the four demands - including fresh probe against Tytler and action against Sajjan Kumar - the Left made in return for its support against the opposition-sponsored adjournment motion.

Tytler handed two letters to Sonia - a personal note addressed to her and a formal resignation addressed to the Prime Minister which her political secretary Ahmed Patel, carried to Singh. He later told the media : “Why should I put the party in trouble ? I want my name to be cleared expeditiously.”

That the Delhi Sadar MP would quit the Ministry was decided on Tuesday night in the face of growing public perception that the Government’s action taken report was, in fact, a no-action declaration. Had Tytler paid heed to the advice he received on Monday, August 8, to quit of his own - he would have really saved the Congress of the embarrassment it faced. His exit now lacks the political legitimacy that could have fetched him some sympathy.

Outer Delhi MP, Sajjan Kumar, named in the Nanavati Report resigned as chairman of the Delhi Rural Development Board on Thursday, August 11. The Congress had been under immense pressure from the Left, BJP and Akali Dal leaders to take action against Congress leaders indicted in the Commission report.



Two committees to look into compensation

The Manmohan Singh Government has announced that two committees are being set up to ensure prompt payment of compensation to the families of the victims of the 1984 riots. Home Minister Shivraj Patil told the Rajya Sabha on August 11 that the compensation given tot he victims in some states was inadequate and assured the House that the Government would ensure that the other victims got compensation on par with those in Delhi.

Assuring members that any person found responsible for the riots will be dealt with as per the law, he said the Nanavati Commission report referred to the criminals and conspirators joining riotous mobs. “The question is what should be done ? Justice should be done and simultaneously some relief and compensation should also be given to the families of the victims.”



PM saves Congress from Patil’s goof up

Observers say that the handling of the Nanavati Commission report by the Government is an indication of the Congress leadership’s lack of political foresight. A section of the party leadership now admits that they were taken in by Jagdish Tytler’s reasoning that the Commission’s findings did not indict him and so no action should be taken against him. But the people’s and the media’s reaction has brought home to the party that taking decisions purely on technical grounds was fallacious.

The Congress leadership is now shocked to see the ATR turn into a national embarrassment. Sources say Home Minister Shivraj Patil and his officials had erred at the very outset by creating an impression that the Commission’s findings were weak and did not compel the Government to act. Sources said Patil highlighted the fact that the top Congress leadership had been exonerated and in his enthusiasm to push the point that Rajiv Gandhi had come out unscathed, he missed the big picture which would include a massive Sikh outrage. After all, nearly 3000 people had been killed and there was nothing to rejoice about the Commission’s failure to fix responsibility. The 1984 carnage, like the Gujarat riots, had been embedded in the nation’s memory and denial of justice was bound to evoke passions.

But Patil and his Ministry came up with a pedestrian ATR, not of a level higher than one prepared by an SHO, and brought shame to Congress. The language, the mood and the content were all insensitive and sent out a message that the Congress did not care.

Though the Union Cabinet cleared the ATR, it was not involved with the nitty-gritty which was formulated and finalised by Home Minister Patil needing all of six months to do this great job.

Congress leaders are relieved that the Prime Minister salvaged some pride for the Government by his sensitive response. They say the Left’s pressure - threat of supporting the Opposition’s adjournment motion unless concrete action was taken - was not the only factor that led to the change of mind.

Dr. Manmohan Singh had a meeting with the ailing CPI(M) leader, Harkishan Singh Surjeet last week soon after his statement in Parliament apologising to the nation for the 1984 riots. Surjeet had played a significant role in Punjab during the days of militancy, bringing about the Rajiv Gandhi-Longowal accord of 1985. Surjeet is understood to have appreciated the Prime Minister’s statement in Parliament and urged him to implement the Nanavati Commission’s recommendations with diligence.



BJP takes exception to Sonia Gandhi’s silence

Despite Dr. Manmohan Singh’s apology, the BJP has taken exception to what it called the silence being maintained by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the Nanavati Commission report. The party has demanded that she too should apologise to the nation for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. BJP spokesman V.K. Malhotra said : “With PM’s apology, the resignation of the Minister and the virtual withdrawal of action taken report, it has been proved that the Congress was fully involved in the riots, but it is surprising that Sonia Gandhi did not consider it appropriate to utter even a word on it.”

Recalling Sonia’s sit-in in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Parliament complex after the Gujarat riots, he said, “Her silence on the anti-Sikh riots even five days after tabling of the action taken report is baffling.”

The party also demanded that the Congress make it known to the nation as to why after approving the ATR, Government virtually withdrew it.



Manmohan PM because of his ability, says BJP leader

There was a flutter in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday when senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh chided the Congress for priding itself on giving the country a Sikh Prime Minister. He said, “Dr. Manmohan Singh is the Prime Minister of the country because of his ability and not because he is a Sikh, Gen. J.J. Singh is the Army Chief because of his ability and not because he is a Sikh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia is Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission because of his ability, and not because he is a Sikh.”

Congress member Anand Sharma responded saying : “It was in the context of mischievous and politically motivated statements by leaders of the party to which Mr. Rajnath Singh belongs that I said that India should be proud that we have a Singh Prime Minister, a Sikh Chief of Army Staff and a Sikh Deputy Chairperson of the Planning Commission.” However, Rajnath Singh supported by other BJP members, countered him stating that it was “not a secular comment by the Congress, which calls itself a secular party.”



Tytler resignation : BJP fears

While the BJP is happy about the resignation of Jagdish Tytler from the Union Council of Ministers, it is wary of the fact that, G.T. Nanavati-Shah Commission is to come out soon with a report on the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat. It fears that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi may face demands for his resignation if the Nanavati-Shah panel comes out with a damaging report.

While the BJP evaded a direct response to questions on whether the action against Tytler taken by the Congress should be a precedent worth emulating, some of its allies are already saying Modi will face Tytler’s fate if the report goes against him. From JD(U)’s Lok Sabha MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh to Trinamool Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Trivedi, the massage was clear.

At party briefings on August 10 and 11, the party conceded that the Tytler parallel may have to be followed if Nanavati who is now almost through with the groundwork on the 2002 Gujarat riots, submits a report damaging to Modi and his Government. Senior leaders like Sushma Swaraj and V.K. Malhotra tried to hedge by saying “we will see when the report comes.”

Apart from the Nanavati-Shah Commission’s probe into the 2002 Gujarat Riots, there is another panel’s report that can worry the BJP. It is Justice M.S. Liberhan Commission, set up by the P.V. Narasimha Rao Government 10 days after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. It was tasked with inquiring into the incident and facts that led to the demolition.

It got what is considered, perhaps, its last six month extension last month. The last witness, former UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, stepped down from the box on June 3.

The BJP which does not rule out action against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, is wary of indicating any response to the Liberhan Panel’s report. “We consider it a political issue born out of a political movement,” said BJP’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha V.K. Malhotra.

Justice Liberhan indicated that he has already started penning the final report. It is likely to be tabled before December this year.