THE Akali Dal (Badal) Delhi unit today lashed out at the Congress for fielding at least three of the 1984 riot accused as their candidates in the Lok Sabha polls.
Avtaar Singh Hitt, president of the unit, said: ‘‘We appeal to the Sikh community not to vote for the Congress because if murderers are brought to power then there are chances that the 1984 riots may be repeated.’’
Hitt added: ‘‘Congress’s decision to give tickets to Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler and R.K. Anand shows that it does not respect the Sikh sentiment.’’
‘‘Since 1984, we have not been given justice. We kept thinking that the accused will be given some kind of punishment but nothing happened. Now, the Congress has gone ahead and given these people tickets to contest,’’ said Hitt.
‘‘It only shows the Congress still thinks about the Sikh community the way they did in 1984. It is like giving them a medal for what they did then,’’ he added.
‘‘We sent a memorandum to Sonia Gandhi last month urging her not to give tickets to those accused in the 84 riots. However, she did not listen,’’ he said.
Lt general Jasjit Singh Aurora, president of the Sikh Forum said: ‘‘It is ironical that the Congress, which was so vocal about communal riots in Gujarat, has no remorse for its shameful act done 20 years back.’’