Rajiv Gandhi's name should be included in 1984 riot cases: Sukhbir Badal
Gurdaspur, Jan 3: SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal Thursday demanded that former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's name should be included in cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
The former Punjab deputy chief minister alleged that accounts of witnesses had made it clear that Rajiv Gandhi was "behind" the riots.
"Rajiv Gandhi's name should be included in the cases registered in connection with the 1984 riots. Rajiv's name should also be removed from all awards and institutions," he said addressing a gathering in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.
"Recent developments as well as accounts of witnesses has made it clear that Rajiv Gandhi was behind the 1984 riots," Badal claimed.
The Congress has consistently denied its leadership's role in the riots.
The NDA government established a Special Investigation Team to probe the 1984 riot cases. There have been convictions in the matter, he said.
The BJP-led NDA government at the Centre has resolved several pending issues of the Sikh community, Badal added.
Targeting Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, the SAD leader alleged that he has gone back on his promise of complete farm loan waiver and betrayed the farmers of Punjab.
Like the loan waiver in Punjab, those promised by Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh is also a "hoax", Badal alleged.
Prime Minister Modi has not only fast-tracked development and infrastructure projects in Punjab, but also resolved long pending issues of the Sikh community, he said.
Badal said be it investments on creating a world-class road network or building new airports, sanctioning an IIM at Amritsar and AIIMS at Bathinda or releasing funds for the Shahpur Kandi dam, the NDA government has always kept Punjab first.
This is unlike of previous Congress governments which have always discriminated against Punjab and its people, he alleged.
If Punjab has got something it is only at the hands of non-Congress governments at the Centre," Badal said.
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Siddaramaiah to inaugurate new Vidhana Soudha entrance on March 25
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will inaugurate the new main entrance of the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on March 25, Speaker U.T. Khader said on Saturday.
According to The Times of India, speaking to reporters, Khader said the entrance has been developed with intricate Karnataka-style architecture through the Karnataka Forest Development Corporation and the Public Works Department (PWD).
He said solar panels installed to partially supply energy to Vidhana Soudha will also be inaugurated on the same day.
Khader further said the PWD has floated tenders to develop additional entrances near the grand steps and on the High Court side of Vidhana Soudha, and the works will be taken up shortly.
Responding to a query on a proposed dog shelter for stray dogs within the Vidhana Soudha premises, Khader said the proposal is pending with the government and will have to be finalised by it.
