Agony of the entire Sikh community. Suffering of all those Sikh families killed by Congress leaders in 1984. Att… https://t.co/3UJuCioeuc — Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) 1557412910000 'परिवार के पुरुषों पर टायर डाला, मिट्टी का तेल डाला और जिंदा जला दिया। राजीव गांधी को न बोलूं तो किसे बोलूं...' ऐ… https://t.co/0h0ug1N8LZ — BJP (@BJP4India) 1557416007000 Election results 2019: How Sam Pitroda ended up making a controversial remark on 1984 anti-Sikh riots NEW DELHI: Top BJP leaders, including its president Amit Shah , pounced on Congress leader Sam Pitroda ’s statement on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and said the nation would never forgive Congress for its sins.“Agony of the entire Sikh community. Suffering of all those Sikh families killed by Congress leaders in 1984. Attack on Delhi’s secular ethos. All summed up in these three words by Sam Pitroda — ‘hua to hua’. India will never forgive murderer Congress for its sins,” Shah tweeted.Responding to a question by a TV reporter, Pitroda had said “84 me jo hua so hua” and demanded that BJP should explain its performance in the past five years.Union minister Prakash Javadekar too condemned Pitroda’s comment. “Today, a shocking statement has come from Sam Pitroda, Rahul’s guru and Rajiv’s colleague. He has said that whatever happened in 1984, where 3,000 Sikhs were burnt alive, ‘hua to hua, hua to kya hua’. This is never heard. Nobody has said this. Rajiv Gandhi had justified this genocide by saying when a big tree falls, the earth shakes. Science doesn’t say this. Science says the opposite, when earth shakes, trees fall. This shocker by Sam Pitroda is absolutely horrible. Can’t accept it,” he said.Javadekar asked Sonia and Rahul Gandhi to apologise over Pitroda’s comments. “We condemn this and we demand that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should apologise not only to the Sikhs but to the nation. If this is the guru, what can be the ‘chela’? People will teach you a lesson democratically,” he added.Pitroda was speaking to the media on BJP’s charge citing the Nanavati Commission report that instructions for the violence had come from then PM Rajiv Gandhi. Answering a question, Pitroda angrily said, “I don’t think so, this is also another lie, and what is with 1984? You speak about what happened in five years. It happened in 1984, so what? (1984 hua to hua).”Earlier, BJP had tweeted, “It is on record of Nanavati Commission that probed the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the biggest genocide of India in which the government killed its own citizens, that instructions to kill came directly from the then PM Rajiv Gandhi’s office. The country awaits justice for this karma.”<doc-sep>Fears BJP may take advantage; looks to end debate. Congress president Rahul Gandhi is learnt to have spoken with Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda on Saturday, and expressed his disagreement with the latter’s comments on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh was not only quick to criticise Mr. Pitroda but even named Congress members like Sajjan Kumar as being among those responsible for the riots. Ahead of the May 19 polling in Punjab, the Congress leadership is not only aiming at damage control but is also looking to end the debate around the riots. Party sources said the leaders had been advised not to engage in any debate on the issue as that could give an advantage to the BJP or its ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). “If our party leaders engage in a debate on the 1984 riots, then it will help the Akalis and the BJP polarise the elections between Sikh and non-Sikh voters. We don’t want to get caught in a trap,” a source said. On firm footing Punjab with 13 Lok Sabha seats is one of the few north Indian States where the Congress seems to have an edge over the BJP and the SAD. The party had just launched Team Punjab and Mission 13 with the Chief Minister as the head. “We should focus on our State government’s successes instead of being engaged in divisive issues,” said the source. On Thursday, Mr. Pitroda had reacted to the BJP’s allegation that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had been directly involved in the anti-Sikh riots following Indira Gandhi’s assassination. “Ab kya hai ’84 ka? Aapne kya kiya 5 saal mein, uski baat kariye. ’84 mein hua to hua. Aapne kya kiya? [What about 1984 now? Talk about what you have done in the last five years. What happened in 1984 happened. What have you done? ],” Mr. Pitroda was reported to have said. The Congress president quickly criticised Mr. Pitroda on his Facebook post, and asked for an apology from him. “What Mr. Sam Pitroda has said is absolutely and completely out of line and is not appreciated,” he wrote on Friday. “I think 1984 was a needless tragedy that caused tremendous pain. I think justice has to be done. The people who were responsible for the 1984 tragedy have to be punished. Former PM Manmohan Singh Ji has apologised. My mother, Sonia Gandhi Ji has apologised,” he said.<doc-sep>Training the guns on Congress leader Sam Pitroda over his "hua to hua" comment on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah said the remark was an attack on secular ethos. In response to BJP's claim that the "instructions to kill" in 1984 had come from the office of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Sam Pitroda had called it another lie of the BJP. "This is also another lie, and what about 1984? 1984 hua toh hua. Aapne kya kiya paanch saal mein, uski baat kariye. '84 mein hua to hua. (You speak about what you have done in five years. It happened in 1984, so what? )," Sam Pitroda said.<doc-sep>Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday criticised the Congress for its leader Sam Pitroda’s remarks on the 1984 anti-Sikh violence, PTI reported. BJP leaders on Friday tweeted a video clip of an interview in which Pitroda responded to an ANi reporter’s question about the violence with: “Hua to hua [it happened, so what?]”. The exchange took place on Thursday. The reporter had asked Pitroda about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had ordered the violence in 1984 after two Sikh bodyguards assassinated his mother Indira Gandhi. Modi said Pitroda’s comment reflected the Congress party’s arrogance. “Congress, which ruled for a maximum period, has been insensitive and that is reflected by the three words spoken yesterday...these words have not been spoken just like that, these words [reflect the] character and mentality and intentions of the Congress,” the prime minister said at an election rally in Haryana’s Rohtak city. Modi said his government provided justice “for the sin that was committed in 1984 due to the Congress namdaar”. “For the first time, justice has been done to the victims of the Sikh riots,” he added. “The guilty are being sentenced to life imprisonment or death.” The prime minister said the Congress had made its views on the 1984 violence public through Pitroda’s comment. “Congress said ‘whatever happened, happened’,” he said, repeating Pitroda’s remark. “So much arrogance, so much lack of compassion.” Modi told ANI that the remarks reflect Congress’s mentality. He quoted former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s remark following the violence that “when a big tree falls, the earth shakes”. “They [Congress] even made Kamal Nath in charge of Punjab, now made him Madhya Pradesh chief minister,” he added. “So do not take this as an individual’s statement, this is the entire party’s thought.” Also read: 1984 anti-Sikh violence: BJP demands Rahul Gandhi’s apology for Sam Pitroda’s ‘so what?’ remark<doc-sep>
The Congress on Friday distanced itself from the controversial comments made by Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda, and said victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the 2002 Gujarat riots must get justice. “Any opinion or remark made by any individual to the contrary, including Sam Pitroda’s, is not the opinion of the party,” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said in a statement. The Congress asked party leaders to be “more careful and sensitive”. “The Congress party believes that justice should be done to 1984 riots victims as also to 2002 Gujarat riots victims. We abhor violence of any kind, against any person or a group of people based on their caste, colour, region or religion. This is the essence of India,” the statement said. On Thursday, Mr. Pitroda had reacted to the BJP’s allegation that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had been directly involved in the anti-Sikh riots following Indira Gandhi’s assassination. “What about 1984 now? Talk about what you have done in the past five years. What happened in 1984 happened. What have you done?,” he is reported to have told news agency ANI. The Congress questioned why the BJP fielded a terror accused [Pragya Singh from Bhopal]. “Unlike the BJP, which has decided to field a candidate charged with terror crimes and is being lauded as its face by none less than Shri Narendra Modi himself, the Congress party has shown the moral and political courage to punish people and leaders accused of violence/role in 1984,” Mr. Surjewala said.