NEWS
ANALYSIS
SPECIALS
INTERVIEW
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
ISSUES
GALLERY
MANIFESTOS
OVERHEARD
INDIA SPEAKS!
DISCUSSION GROUP
CHAT
PREVIOUS RESULTS

Ticket for Tytler earns Congress Sikhs' wrath

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

Sikh organisations have reacted sharply to the Congress' decision to nominate controversial politician Jagdish Tytler as its candidate from the Delhi Sadar parliamentary constituency.

Tytler, according to them, had played a leading role in organising anti-Sikh riots in Delhi in November 1984, following prime minister Indira Gandhi's assassination.

A Delhi court had recently given Tytler a clean chit in one riot case after the Central Bureau of Investigation reported that he had played no role in the incident.

Gurcharan Singh Babbar, who has penned several books on the Delhi riots, described the Congress decision as shocking.

"We had hoped that better sense would prevail and the Congress would deny nomination to tainted political leaders. What is shocking all the more is the way the CBI went out of its way to oblige Tytler. Look at the timing of the clearance given by the court. Don't you think this smacks of complicity on the part of the investigating agency?" asks Babbar.

"When Justice Anil Dev Singh passed orders against Tytler he had specifically asked the CBI to locate a particular first information report filed by some of the victims. This FIR was at the Sabji Mandi police station. But the CBI, instead of looking for that file, told the court that it could not be located. How can the file be located when the police officers were themselves involved in the riots?

"According to the report filed by the anti-riot cell, more then 72 police officers were directly involved and were liable for action for remaining silent spectators while the mobs were looting, burning and killing Sikhs. We have an affidavit by one of the organisers wherein he specifically mentions that Tytler was one of the perpetrators, and he was personally leading mobs and getting Sikhs killed in various parts of Delhi. Now we are told that he had no role. Then to rub the salt into the wounds, he is nominated!" Babbar said in disgust.

Another Sikh leader, Avtar Singh echoed the sentiment. "We were happy when Dr Manmohan Singh was nominated as Congress candidate for the South Delhi constituency. We were pleased when we read some of his statements that if the Congress gave tickets to tainted leaders like Tytler, Sajjan Kumar and H K L Bhagat then he would not contest. Now that the party has nominated Tytler, I would like to ask Dr Manmohan Singh whether he would withdraw from the contest. Or will he accept the humiliation of having Tytler and carry on with his campaign?" he asked indignantly.

General Secretary of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Onkar Singh Thapar too lashed out at the Congress. "The nomination shows that the Congress has practically no leader to give Madan Lal Khurana a fight in his constituency. By giving ticket to Tytler the Congress has reopened the wounds which had started healing in the last 15 years. This is not a healthy signal for the Sikh community," Thapar claimed.

For his part, Khurana, the BJP nominee for Delhi Sadar who voiced his anger against the way CBI went out of its way to clear Tytler in the nick of time last week, welcomed Tytler's return. "So far I was just campaigning. But now I will have the thrill of defeating Tytler. Ab majja ayee ga," Khurana told rediff.com .

A beaming Tytler was obviously overjoyed with his party's decision. "I was told about the nomination late last night. I visited Gurdwara Rakbh Ganj Sahib and Gurdwara Bangla Sahib this morning to thank Wahe Guru for giving me his blessings," he said.

He denied the allegations that he had managed the CBI and got himself a clean chit on the election eve. "The CBI had filed this report almost six months ago. It is sheer coincidence that the court accepted the findings only last week. Let me tell you that the case was not against me. It was a case against two police officers and the court had merely asked the CBI to look into the allegation that I was also present on the scene of the incidents. Since the CBI did not find any evidence against me, they filed the report and the court accepted its findings. What can I do if it came on the eve of elections?" justifies Tytler.

But many in his party do not agree with him. They still think that the Congress in all fairness should have denied him the nomination just as it had done with Sajjan Kumar.

"The party stand is very clear and all those who have cases pending against them in any court have been denied. Since there is no court case pending against Tytler, the rule did not apply to him. The tickets given to the candidates in Delhi has the express approval of both party president Sonia Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh," said Congress spokesman Ved Prakash.

Tell us what you think of this report