New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) The BJP will organise a day-long conclave and exhibition on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Chandigarh on Wednesday, bringing together survivors, eyewitnesses, legal experts and political leaders to discuss the circumstances surrounding the massacre, alleged conspiracy, legal battles and rehabilitation of victims.
Titled ‘Zakhm 84 De’ (Wounds of 1984), the conclave aims to bring people face-to-face with what the organisers described as the “horrifying truth” of the 1984 Sikh massacre, the BJP said.
The event comes days after the BJP strongly criticised the Congress over its November 1 rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, accusing Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of rubbing salt into the wounds of victims of the anti-Sikh riots.
The BJP had questioned the Congress’ moral authority to organise the rally, alleging that the party had not answered for the violence that erupted following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.
The programme in Chandigarh will begin with the inauguration of an exhibition on the 1984 Sikh massacre at 9.30 am by Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon and party’s national general secretary and Punjab in-charge Satish Poonia.
The opening session will begin with an ‘Ardas’ (prayer) for the spiritual peace of the martyrs and justice. Dhillon will deliver the address, while former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will deliver the keynote address. Prasad had fought cases related to the 1984 massacre in the Supreme Court.
The second session, titled ‘When and How Did the Sikh Genocide Take Place?’, will feature eyewitnesses in the massacre cases.
The panellists include Nirpreet Kaur, a key witness in the Sajjan Kumar case; Jang Sher Singh, a witness in the massacre cases; Darshan Kaur, another witness in the cases; Satpal Kaur from Alwar, who is also a witness; and Bibi Jagdish Kaur, who will participate through a video recording.
The third session, titled ‘Was the 1984 Sikh Genocide a Conspiracy?’, will feature eyewitness Tarlochan Singh, who will join online; BJP MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney, who lost five family members in the massacre; a video presentation by former RAW officer G B S Sidhu; and Atma Singh Lubana, vice-president of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC).
The fourth session, ‘Murder of Justice’, will feature Justice S N Dhingra, who headed the two-member special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the Supreme Court in 2018 to reinvestigate closed cases relating to the 1984 massacre; advocate H S Phoolka, who has fought a 42-year-long legal battle to ensure punishment for those responsible for the violence; and advocate Ashok Kashyap, who played an important role in the investigation and report of the Justice Nanavati Commission constituted by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
The fifth session, titled ‘Efforts to Ensure Punishment for the Guilty’, will see Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and advocate Phoolka participate in a discussion. Sirsa has fought for justice for victims of the massacre and worked towards their rehabilitation while serving as president of the DSGMC.
The final session will focus on ‘Rehabilitation Efforts by BJP Governments’. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Poonia, Dhillon and BJP MP Sahney will be the panellists.
All the sessions will be hosted and moderated by BJP national spokesperson R P Singh, the party said PTI KSH KVK
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