Manmohan Singh spoke half truth on 1984, remained silent on Rajiv Gandhi’s role: BJP

Chandigarh, December 5, 2019: Reacting to the statement of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on 1984 Sikh massacre, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said that the Congress leader has selectively and intentionally revealed half truth as he kept a discreet silence on Rajiv Gandhi’s role in the highly unfortunate episode. Tarun Chugh, the national secretary of the party, said that the Congress now seems to have a plan of holding deceased former Prime Minister Narsimha Rao responsible for the massacre in its bid to shield the culprits it had been shielding for over last three decades. Chugh said this is also due to the decisive and pro-active role played by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who honouring his promise made to the Sikh community, initiated to reopen the cases to get the guilty punished and to impart justice to the victim families. “Dr. Manmohan Singh seems to have indulged in a yet another act of sycophancy. His statement seems to be another ploy to divert the attention from the real culprits including Rajiv Gandhi,” Chugh said adding that Dr. Manmohan Singh has been doing so since 1982. The BJP leader said despite the most brutal massacre of Sikhs, Singh who was the Governor of RBI at that time, continued to be in his seat till 1985 just to be in the good books of Gandhi family. “Instead of sympathizing with the victims and his community, Singh preferred to build his image before the Gandhis and finally managed to get rewarded by his elevation to the coveted post of Prime Minister after serving as Finance Minister of the country,” he said. Reminding Manmohan Singh about Rajiv Gandhi’s infamous statement that ‘When a big tree falls, the earth shakes’, Chugh said his efforts to steer Gandhi family clear of the charges will prove futile. The Sikh community and everyone else in the country know that there would not have been a massacre of this scale and brutality without the express desire and directions of Rajiv Gandhi, he said. The BJP leader cautioned the former Prime Minister not to lead this misleading propaganda to exonerate Rajiv Gandhi of his sin. “The Modi-II government is committed to get the guilty punished as per law of the land and Mr Singh’s utterances won’t help,” he said. Chugh also urged Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to make his and Punjab Congress’ stand clear in light of the fresh statement of Dr. Manmohan Singh.