NOVEMBER 1984 MASSACRE
NEW DELHI - A week after Congress leader Sajjan Kumar was acquitted by a Delhi court in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, the protests against the decision continue and on Monday a large number of Sikhs held a demonstration near Parliament House and blocked traffic for over an hour demanding justice for the victims.
The agitating protesters held placards and shouted slogans against the ruling Congress Government and squatted at Vijay Chowk near Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Led by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) and Shiromani Akali Dal leaders, the protesters, including several women, sat on dharna for a couple of hours. They were later taken into custody by the police and escorted to a nearby police station. Last week, the group had disrupted Delhi Metro operations by jumping on the tracks at Subash Nagar metro station in protest and had marched to the residences of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi demanding justice for the riots victims. Kumar.
National Democratic Alliance convener Sharad Yadav also reached Rajpath to express solidarity with the protesters. He said it was unfortunate and a failure of the Central Government that even after 29 years of the carnage, Sikhs have to come out on the streets and protest to seek justice in cases pertaining to the riots.
As a precaution on Monday, the police blocked the stretch of Rajpath from South Block to Rashtrapati Bhavan as also a portion of Raisina Road and Vijay Chowk. Traffic was also diverted causing inconvenience to the commuters.
A statement issued by the DSGMC said the protesters will go to any length to get justice. The DSGMC president Manjit Singh G.K. said that the protests against Mr. Kumar will continue. The Committee general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa and other representatives also participated in Monday’s protests.
RAIL TRAFFIC DISRUPTED IN SUNDAY
Rail traffic was on Sunday disrupted for several hours this morning as activists of various Sikh outfits squatted on tracks to protest the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in an anti-Sikh riots case.
Prominent trains hit due to the protests included Shatabadi Express, Amritsar–Sehrsa Express, Jammu-Chennai Express, New Delhi–Amritsar Superfast, Chhatisgarh-Amritsar Express, Howrah-Amritsar Express and Amritsar–Mumbai Paschim Express, railway sources said.
The protesters jointly led by SGPC member Gurinder Pal Singh Gora and Sikh Student Federation (Mehta) district president Surinder Pal Sandhu blocked Ravi Express at Batala Railway Station for an hour, officials said.
In Ludhiana, members of Sikh Danga Peerat Society and All India Sikh Student Federation Federation sat on dharna on railway lines, paralysing rail traffic on main line towards Delhi and Amritsar for around six hours, officials said.
They warned that if the government failed to take appropriate steps to ensure punishment for the culprits, the agitation would be further stepped up in coming days. The main Ludhiana Delhi rail route remained suspended for four hours.
PROTESTS CONTINUE IN DELHI
Scores of Sikhs demonstrated in New Delhi on Monday against the acquittal of a senior Indian ruling party politician on murder charges in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh killings.
Activists accuse Congress of turning a blind eye to the killing of Sikhs and allege leaders such as Kumar and Jagdish Tytler incited mobs during the killings.
Sikh protesters have been demonstrating in Delhi since the verdict was handed down last Tuesday, marching to the residence of Indian Congress Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the nation's first Sikh premier, and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Some MPs had to walk to parliament on Monday as they could not take their vehicles due to the protesters' blockade.
Sikhs make up less than two percent of Hindu-majority India's population of 1.2 billion.
