Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today requested Lt Governor Najeeb Jung to order a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots with the issue having triggered a fresh debate following Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s recent interview to a TV channel.
“I discussed the matter with the Lt Governor. He was positive about it. As far as constitution of an SIT and fixing the terms of reference are concerned, we will decide that at the next cabinet meeting,” Kejriwal told reporters here.
Seeking to strike a contrast between the roles played by the government during the anti-Sikh riots and the 2002 riots in Gujarat, Rahul had said, “the simple difference is that in 1984, the government was not involved in the massacre of people. In Gujarat, it was.”
Meanwhile, Kejriwal is also learnt to have written to President Pranab Mukherjee requesting him to commute to life imprisonment the death sentence awarded to Devinderpal Singh Bhullar of the Khalistan Liberation Force.
Bhullar was convicted and awarded the death penalty for his role in a 1993 bomb blast in New Delhi which killed nine persons and injured 25 others.
Supreme Court yesterday agreed to hear in an open court the plea by Bhullar for commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment.