This refers to the editorial, “Empty words, no more” (January 29). Seeking to differentiate the 1984 Sikh massacre and the 2002 Gujarat violence, Mr Rahul Gandhi says that the Gujarat Government “abetted and pushed” the 2002 incident while the Government in Delhi had tried to stop the 1984 riots. The Nanavati Commission's report on 1984 riots had indicted leaders of the Congress and even the Government in a way for the violence against the Sikhs.
According to senior Supreme Court advocate HS Phoolka, all those cases in the Gujarat riots closed by the police were re-opened and re-investigated by the Special Investigation Team. Several of the accused, including a Minister in the Gujarat Government, were convicted. In the 1984 case, hardly any Congress leader of prominence has been punished. Most cases were closed by the police and the Congress did not agree for a SIT probe. That is the real difference between the two incidents.