Sikh body threatens protest over Gadkari's remark

Despite BJP chief Nitin Gadkari's denial of having given a clean chit to Congress on its role in 1984 riots, a Sikh organisation on Wednesday warned of nationwide protests against him from Thursday over his comments.

"Gadkari's statement that there was no role of Congress in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots has hurt the entire Sikh community in India and abroad and it is a dangerous comment," All India Sikh Conference president Gurcharan Singh Babbar said.

"He must answer who was responsible for the deadly carnage if Congress was not behind this or else the Sikh community will also hold the RSS and BJP responsible for it," he told reporters here.

Singh said if Gadkari's statement was accepted then it would imply that the continuous efforts by Sikhs to get justice for the last 26 years was a "sheer waste".

He also warned of nationwide protests against Gadkari starting tomorrow, saying, "There would be widespread protests wherever Sikh communities exist and it will only get more stronger." Gadkari was recently quoted as saying in a radio report that some people might be involved in 1984 riots but it would not be entirely correct to say that the riots were initiated by the Congress government. The BJP chief later said he has not given any clean chit to the Congress in the anti-Sikh riots. "I have not said any such thing and I have been quoted out of context...My statement was totally misinterpreted. The reference was to riots in Gujarat where Chief Minister Narendra Modi was being blamed and held responsible," he had said.