Sonia, Rahul should apologise for Pitroda's remark: BJP

As the row over Sam Pitroda's remarks on 1984 anti-sikh riots kicked in, the BJP on Friday demanded that Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi must apologise “with folded hands” to the Sikh community.

The saffron party also demanded “immediate” sacking of Pitroda from the Congress.

Pitroda is the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress.

“'Hua to hua' is not just a sentence. This is shamelessness. It is insensitive, inhuman. If someone must apologise for this, it is the former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the present president Rahul Gandhi who should come in front of the Sikh community with folded hands and remove Sam Pitroda from the party,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said at a press conference here at the BJP headquarters.

Both Sonia and Rahul should also accept that the Congress “got people massacred for its selfish gains,” he also demanded.

Nirpreet Kaur, a witness to the 1984-riots, shared dais with Patra and BJP national secretary RP Singh at the press conference. He said, “Neither the father ever apologised, nor did the son. Not even the mother. Manmohan Singh, whose wife lost one of her brothers who was burnt to death, apologised. So they got someone who actually suffered the attacks to apologise on their behalf."

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) issued a notice to Pitroda over his remarks on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, asking him to tender “an unconditional apology” to the Sikh community for his comments.

The statutory body swung into action and sought an explanation from Pitroda over his remarks after a BJP leader, Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, filed a complaint in this connection.

"The complaint has been taken very seriously as Sikhs are one of the notified minority communities in India and the incident of 1984 massacre is a blot in the history of mankind," the commission stated.

Bagga, who is Delhi BJP spokesperson, also lodged a complaint with Delhi police seeking registration of an FIR against Pitroda for allegedly hurting sentiments of the Sikh community with his remarks on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.