Manmohan
fails to pacify Jharkhand's Sikhs:-
not making the Nanavati
Commission's report public.
Ranchi, Feb 14, 2005:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's campaign
for his Congress party for Jharkhand's assembly polls
has failed to pacify the state's Sikh community, which
is up in arms against the government not making public
a report on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Three Sikh groups -- Jharkhand Sikh Vikas Manch (JSVM),
All Jharkhand Sikh Federation (AJSF) and the Siromani
Akali Dal -- have appealed to the community to vote
against the Congress and in favour of the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP).
They were irked by the Manmohan Singh government's
failure to make public the report of the Nanavati
Commission that probed the violence against Sikhs
following the assassination of former prime minister
Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
At a rally Sunday at Jamshedpur, home to over 150,000
Sikh voters, Manmohan Singh had appealed to the people
to vote against the corrupt and communal BJP government
in Jharkhand, which he said was not serving the interests
of minority communities.
"The UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government
has done wrong by not making the Nanavati Commission's
report public. The delay in making it public has caused
suspicions and the Sikhs cannot vote for Manmohan
Singh's party," said Gurdeep Singh, president
of the JSVM.
"The report has been deliberately kept secret
to shield Congress leaders. The prime minister should
take into account the sentiments of the Sikh community
and make the report public."
Gurumukh Singh Mykhe, president of the AJSF, said:
"Manmohan himself is a nice person but he has
been reduced to a mere puppet in the hands of Congress
leaders involved in the anti-Sikh riots."
Jharkhand will Tuesday witness the second phase of
the assembly elections.
Sikh community leaders claim 15 Sikhs were killed
in Jharkhand in 1984 and the Congress, instead of
healing wounds, was causing more pain to the community.
"We feel our community was safe and better when
the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) was in power.
At least NDA leaders were ready to listen to us,"
said Suchcha Singh, an Akali Dal leader.
But the Jharkhand Central Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
(CGPC) has criticised the Sikh groups for supporting
the BJP and appealing to the community to vote against
the Congress.
"Every member of the community want the culprits
of the anti-Sikh riots to be booked but we should
keep away from politics over the issue when elections
are being held," said Shailendra Singh, president
of CGPC.
(IANS
