Akali Dal hits out at Centre

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday hit out at the Centre for its reaction over a motion in a Canadian legislative assembly on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying its stand on the issue has “reopened the wounds” of the Sikhs.

Akali MP from Anandpur Sahib and party general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra said he would raise the issue in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Also, a delegation of SAD MPs would also register their protest with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, he added.

The legislative assembly of Ontario had recently passed a motion describing the 1984 antiSikh riots as “genocide” in India. The BJP-led NDA government, of which SAD is also an ally, strongly rejected the move, terming it as “misguided”.

“The Narendra Modi government has reopened the wounds of the Sikhs by this provocative stand,” Chandumajra said in a statement here.

“Rather than calling upon the Canadian government to withdraw this resolution, Parliament should pass a similar resolution to assuage the feelings of the Sikh community,” he added.

Chandumajra said that more than 3,000 innocent Sikh men, women and children were killed in a “designed attack” on the community members in Delhi alone from November 1 to November 3, 1984, and the victims are still waiting for justice.