MS: 1984 anti-Sikh riots could have been avoided if IK Gujral’s advice was heeded

The 1984 anti-Sikh riots could have been avoided had the then home minister PV Narasimha Rao heeded to IK Gujral's advice to call in the Army at the earliest to contain the violence after Indira Gandhi was assassinated, according to former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

Singh’s comments at an event on Wednesday to pay tributes to former prime minister IK Gujral drew sharp reaction from the BJP which blamed Rajiv Gandhi for the riots.

Taking a swipe at Singh, the BJP asked if Rao was so “bad”, why he chose to become the finance minister in his government in 1991.

The Congress refused to react to Singh’s comments.

BJP blames Rajiv Gandhi

Union minister Prakash Javadekar blamed Rajiv Gandhi, who succeeded Indira Gandhi as the prime minister that very night, for the riots, saying the prime minister has the right to order Army deployment in such a situation. “In a way, Rajiv Gandhi supported the massacre with his subsequent comments that the earth shakes when a big tree falls,” Javadekar told reporters about the riots following the assassination of Gandhi.

Gujral’s son and Akali Dal MP Naresh Gujral complimented Singh for being “truthful”. “I admire and compliment Manmohan Singh for being truthful and calling a spade a spade,” he told PTI.

Shocking comments: SAD

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, however, said he was “deeply pained and disappointed” with Manmohan Singh’s comments and alleged that it was “a shocking attempt to shift blame” from Rajiv Gandhi.

In a statement in Chandigarh, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief said, “Relevant government records clearly show that the decision against Army deployment was taken at a meeting held at the residence of Rajiv Gandhi." Singh's claim is "neither true nor appropriate", Badal said.

“It is shocking because it comes from Manmohan Singh whom we have always genuinely respected. It is inappropriate and indecorous as it involves two former prime ministers, P V Narasimha Rao and I K Gujral, neither of whom is alive to respond to this claim. It is intriguing why Singh kept quiet on this all those years when Rao and Gujral were around to confirm or deny this claim,” he said.

Rao’s grandson condemns

In Hyderabad, BJP leader and grandson of former Narasimha Rao, NV Subash, condemned the Singh’s statement. “As a family member, I am feeling saddened by this statement by Dr Manmohan Singh, it is unacceptable,” said Subash while speaking to ANI. He questioned if any home minister can take an independent decision without the cabinet’s approval.

Subash said if the Army had been called, it would have been a “disaster”.

When the sad event of 1984 took place, Gujral-ji on that very sad evening, went to the then Home Minister P V Narasimha Rao and said to him that the situation is so grave that it is necessary for the government to call in the Army at the earliest. If that advice had been heeded, perhaps the massacre that took place in 1984 could have been avoided —MANMOHAN SINGH, FORMER PRIME MINISTER