Perpetrators of anti-Sikh riots should be punished: Rahul
London, Aug 25: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that he stands with the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots and those guilty of violence should be punished as per law.
"If violence is being perpetrated against somebody, there is a legal process. That legal process must go on and the people who have carried out violence must be punished according to law...and I will support 100 per cent," Gandhi said during his interaction with the Indian Journalists' Association in London.
Gandhi's remarks came a day after he disagreed with a question put to him during an interaction in the British Parliament that the Congress was involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
"I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that...I don't agree with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy," Gandhi had said.
On Saturday, Gandhi was again asked the question related to the anti-Sikh riots, which broke out in 1984 after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh security guards.
He said: "I don't know what major denial you are talking about. I am very straightforward person and there is no confusion in my mind."
Gandhi said he had stated on earlier occasions that he understands violence. "I do not believe in violence against anybody, regardless of religion or community and that's very clear," he stressed.
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Two held for 'firing' at BJP leader's house in Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): A day before the counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly elections, two persons were arrested on Sunday for allegedly being involved in a firing incident outside the residence of a BJP leader in North 24 Parganas district, police said.
BJP leader Kundan Singh lodged a police complaint, alleging that a few gunmen fired at his house in the Noapara constituency around Saturday midnight.
Based on the CCTV footage, the two accused were apprehended, a senior officer said.
BJP's Noapara candidate Arjun Singh, in a post on social media, claimed that around 12.05 am, two armed miscreants arrived on a motorcycle at the residence of Kundan Singh, a BJP functionary and secretary of the Barrackpore organisational district, with an "intent to kill him".
According to the BJP leader, the accused are residents of Garulia and are known criminals.
Their names as offenders had been submitted to the Election Commission, he said.
The police officer did not specify whether the two arrested persons were the same individuals named by Arjun Singh.
According to the complaint, one round of firing took place outside Kundan Singh's house, triggering panic in the area.
The BJP candidate also questioned the role of the police, claiming that one of the accused had been detained by the police on the polling day but was later released in the evening.
The Noapara assembly seat went to the polls on April 29.
Several BJP leaders alleged that attempts were being made to create an atmosphere of fear ahead of the counting and weaken the organisation of the opposition parties.
The counting of votes will take place on May 4. Polling for the West Bengal assembly elections was held on April 23 and April 29.
The BJP urged the Election Commission to intervene immediately to ensure peaceful counting.
TMC candidate Somnath Shyam rubbished Arjun Singh’s allegation, claiming that the BJP nominee had orchestrated the firing incident to divert attention from imminent defeat.
“Arjun Singh knows all the gangsters in the Barrackpore belt. Everyone knows about his links with the underworld. Let the police investigate the incident,” Shyam said.
