By IANS,
Kolkata : The Congress’ new ally Trinamool Congress Tuesday demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) restart the probe into Congress leader Jagdish Tytler’s role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
While describing as serious the incident of a journalist in Delhi throwing a shoe at union Home Minister P. Chidambaram over responses on the CBI’s clean chit to Tytler, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee also questioned the propriety of the agency’s decision days before the Lok Sabha polls.
“Instead of giving the clean chit to Tytler, the CBI can restart the investigations… It’s improper to give such a clean chit before the elections. I wonder why the CBI has taken this step at this point of time,” Banerjee said.
Banerjee, whose party has entered into a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, appealed to the Sikh community to remain calm and also asked the Congress to ensure that it did not feel hurt.
“The anti-Sikh riots of 1984 are regrettable. The Punjabis can never forget the riots, just as the minorities can never forget the Babri Mosque demolition or the Gujarat riots. Or, for that matter, the people of Nandigram can never forget the incident which took place there,” Banerjee said.
“Whether the shoe throwing incident was right or not we can come to that later. But the immediate need is to see to it that the Punjabi community is not hurt and there is no breach of peace.”
The state’s principal opposition leader said she was trying to get in touch with some Congress leaders on the issue.
In an unprecedented act in India, Dainik Jagran journalist Jarnail Singh hurled a shoe at Chidambaram as an expression of “deep anguish” over the CBI clean chit to Congress leader Tytler.