"Congress used voter lists to target Sikhs": Hardeep Puri calls 1984 anti-Sikh violence "cold-blooded"

New Delhi [India], October 31 (ANI): Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday asserted that the killings of Sikhs in 1984 were done in "cold blood", saying that it remains one of the "darkest blots" in the history of Independent India.
In an interview with ANI, Puri maintained that the killings of Sikhs in 1984 were not a riot, but a cold-blooded killing of innocent people who were sitting in their homes. He accused the Congress of "using" the voters' list to identify the properties owned by Sikhs.
"We observe the anniversary of one of the darkest blots in the history of independent India. This day, going back to 1984, is one of the darkest. It was not a riot. It was a cold-blooded killing of innocent, vulnerable people sitting in their homes. Those who were responsible for democracy, for preparing the voters list, for law and order, used the voters list to go to the homes of my community, the Sikh community, put charcoal signs outside and then the homes were burnt and people were pulled out. It was one of the darkest chapters in our post-1947 history. Who was in power then?" the Union Minister said.

Intensifying his attack, Puri called out the attempts of Congress to write the history of the independence movement and post-1947 history in terms of "their own family".
"A political party that claimed it had made a great contribution to the country. Perhaps they did, but if you examine the contribution as well, this is a political party that has attempted to write the history of the independence struggle and post-1947 history in terms of their own family. They denied Sardar Patel his place in history. They denied Ambedkar his place in history. They don't give direct credit to where it belongs, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi," he added.
The Union Minister recalled the times of violence against Sikhs in 1984 and said that he was worried for the safety of his parents, who lived in Hauz Khas.
"I was then a young first secretary posted in Geneva at that time and was extremely worried about the safety and well-being of my parents, who lived in a DDA flat in SFS, Hauz Khas. They were rescued in time by my Hindu friend and taken to my grandparents' first-floor house in Khan Market even as unimaginable violence raged across Delhi and several other cities," Puri said.
When asked about Congress's criticism of the alleged treatment of minorities by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Puri stated that minorities are "flourishing" in India.
"Every minority community is flourishing today. BJP doesn't play appeasement politics. Congress reaches out to minority communities, fuels them and then does this to them. I think the people in the Congress party today ought to do some serious introspection on the events of 1984 on that particular day," he said.
Puri said that Congress must apologise properly, which has not happened in all these years.
"I would like to hear a reply from the Congress. I was waiting for somebody to go to the Harmandir Sahib, to Darbar Sahib and at least apologise properly. I haven't seen that in all these years," he added. (ANI)