Has Congress fallen into AAP trap of 1984 riots

Has the Congress Party fallen into a trap of its own making by appointing Kamal Nath as the general secretary in charge of Punjab, and handing over a rallying point to the AAP It seemed so on Monday when the Congress, rattled by the AAP’s attack on the appointment of Mr Nath given his alleged role in the 1984 riots, was forced to defend the appointment.

Rejecting AAP’s allegation against Mr Nath, the Congress on Monday said that bringing up the anti-Sikh riots is the work of a “perverse mind” (of the AAP) and that there is “no question of the Congress buckling under pressure”.

Mr Nath dismissed the charge as “very motivated” and maintained that the Nanavati Commission had “absolved” him of all charges. “For 21 years, my name figured nowhere. There was no charge against me, no statement against me, no case against me. Nobody raised any voice in any manner about my participation in the riots,” he told news channels. He added that AAP leaders were making the charge “out of ignorance”.

“The Nanavati Commission’s report is there on the Internet, free for anybody to read. And this was a commission set up by the BJP government. The Akalis made no charges against me. This matter came up in Parliament on many occasions. They made no charge against me, and now, suddenly, this comes up, so obviously this is very motivated,” Mr Nath said. “I don’t think AAP knows what they are talking about. Nobody has ever made a charge... I think it will be easily dealt with,” he added.

The anti-Sikh riots have been the pet issue of the Congress’ opponents in Punjab Assembly polls and general elections. Assembly elections in Punjab are scheduled to be held early next year.

The AAP, which sees good prospects for itself in the Punjab polls, is keen on keeping the pot boiling because it realises its fight will be with the Congress as the ruling SAD-BJP faces strong anti-incumbency.

Senior AICC spokesperson Anand Sharma on Monday rejected the AAP’s allegation that Mr Nath played a role in the anti-Sikh riots and advised the Arvind Kejriwal-led party to examine the inquiry commission’s report on the riots.

Responding to questions on the “growing anger” against Mr Nath, he said there was no allegation against Mr Nath. “Where is the growing anger Which is the measuring meter of that anger Phoolka (Delhi high court senior advocate Harvinder Singh Phoolka) and Kejriwal and he are pure political opportunists... Public anger is artificially created. It is a nefarious agenda. It is a perverse mindset and it is unfair targeting of my colleague, and the Congress party rejects it. There is no question of the Congress ever buckling under pressure,” Mr Sharma said.

“Truth will eventually prevail. Punjab leader Capt. Amarinder Singh himself has said that for the pain of those painful developments of that period he had quit Parliament, he had quit the party, and he said he rejected it completely. We have to accept that,” he added.

Mr Sharma read out excerpts from the Nanavati report and added, “Therefore, it would not be proper to come to the conclusion that Kamal Nath had in any manner instigated the mob. In the absence of any evidence, it is not possible for the commission to say that he had in any manner instigated the mob or that he was involved in any attack.”