The Congress party has yet again courted controversy for allowing the 1984 anti-Sikh riot accused Jagdish Tytler to campaign for it in the run-up to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections.
In a video shared by Times Now, Tytler was seen campaigning for the grand old party. Given that over 3000 Sikhs were massacred in Delhi during the 1984 riots, the decision of the Congress party to entertain him has rubbed salt in the wounds of the families of the deceased.
The development has angered members of the Sikh community, who reside in large numbers in the National Capital. It must be mentioned that the MCD polls are scheduled for December 4, 2022.
1984 riots accused #JagdishTytler campaigns for Congress ahead of the upcoming MCD polls in #Delhi.
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) December 2, 2022
Earlier #Congress had also faced flak for inclusion of Tytler into the party’s star campaigner list for the polls.
Gandhis always back the killers of Sikhs: @mssirsa pic.twitter.com/qBYE471wRN
While speaking about the development, BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa remarked, “Congres is a party of killers. And the Gandhi family openly supports such killers. And the most shameful thing occurred yesterday when they made Jagdish Tytler address a public rally.”
“Congress is sending a clear message that if people don’t vote for it, then, it will bring in people like Tytler and orchestrate mass killings. This is clearly an attempt at intimidation. We are not afraid of those people, who killed us with impunity with the support of the government.”
He requested the Election Commission (EC) to take cognisance of the matter and asked the voters to abstain from supporting the Congress party, which endorses criminals such as Jagdish Tytler.
1984 सिख क़त्लेआम के दोषी, गांधी परिवार के लाड़ले जगदीश टाइटलर को दिल्ली में चुनाव सभा संबोधित करवा के कांग्रेस सिखों को डराना चाहती है
— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) December 2, 2022
अब हालात बदल गए हैं। नए भारत के सिख कांग्रेस से नहीं डरते और कांग्रेस की इस बदसलूकी का जवाब 4 Dec को @BJP4Delhi को #MCDElection में जिताकर देंगे pic.twitter.com/2P41j3eIXJ
Last month, the Congress party released the list of 40 members for the Pradesh Election Committee for Delhi Municipal Corporation Polls (MCD), and the name of 1984 anti-Sikh Riots accused Jagdish Tytler was included in the list.
Who is Jagdish Tytler
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots erupted in the aftermath of the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and culminated in the horrific killings of over 2800 people, according to government data.
Congress leaders Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler were accused of a direct role in instigating the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India. Jagdish Tytler was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1991 and later served as the Union Minister of State for Surface Transport.
He was only dropped in 2009 by Congress due to the controversy over his actions in the 1984 riots. The CBI gave a clean chit to Tytler during the second term of the UPA government. However, the closure report was rejected by a Sessions Court, and an investigation into his role was requested.
Despite public calls to cut relations with Tytler, Congress has frequently accommodated him on public platforms. In January 2019, Congress was criticised for granting Tytler a front-row seat during the ceremony of former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit taking over as Delhi Congress chief on January 16, 2019.
