Canadian Sikhs Outraged With Congress’s Selection Of Kamal Nath As CM, Says WSO

According to DESIBUZZCanada sources within the Indian Congress party, Nath got the post because he was the only one was ready to spend 500 crore rupees on the election and got a firm okay from both Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, the two chieftains of the National Indian Congress party. “The deal was made before the election and there were only two people who were asked to lead the party in MP and it was only Nath who apparently was able to raise the 500 crore to win the election,” LINK editor R. Paul Dhillon said from India where he has gone to attend a wedding and promote his upcoming film DESI ANGREJ: The Fusion Generation.

OTTAWA – The World Sikh Organization of Canada is outraged by the selection of Kamal Nath as the next Chief Minister of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Nath is accused of leading a mob that burned several Sikhs alive in Delhi during the 1984 Sikh Genocide. The appointment of Nath follows the victory of the Congress party in the recent Madhya Pradesh election.

“The deal was made before the election and there were only two people who were asked to lead the party in MP and it was only Nath who apparently was able to raise the 500 crore to win the election,” DESIBUZZCanada editor-founder R. Paul Dhillon said from India where he has gone to attend a wedding and promote his upcoming film DESI ANGREJ: The Fusion Generation.

“When you ask the Congree cadre about Nath being tainted with the 1984 killings – most are not ready to accept the charges as so far Nath has not been charged the same way that Sajjan Kumar has been. It’s no coincident that Sajjan Kumar was convicted on eve of Nath’s swearing in. The Congress is trying to wash it’s hands of the genocidal killings but it needs to come out and fully accept the responsibility and apologize for the murderous reign under their power,” Dhillon said.

Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi announced last week that Kamal Nath would be the next Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. The Congress Party announced from its Twitter handle that “an era of change is upon MP with him [Kamal Nath] at the helm.”

Nath was identified by numerous witnesses, including Indian Express reporter Sanjay Suri, as having controlled a mob of 4000 people that attacked Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, a prominent Sikh shrine in Delhi, on November 1, 1984, following the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Sanjay Suri, testified under oath that he found that Kamal Nath was ‘controlling the crowd’ which he said was ‘looking to him for directions.’ Several Sikhs were burnt alive by the mob.

On 3 November, The Statesman newspaper reported,

‘Policemen criticized the role of politicians too. Several councillors, they alleged, interceded on behalf of violent mobs when policemen tried to stop arson. Officers wondered what Mr Kamal Nath was doing at Rakab Ganj.’

Nath has denied his involvement in the killings. However, according to Justice Nanavati, who chaired a commission to investigate the 1984 Sikh Genocide, and the role of government officials, Nath has failed to satisfactorily explain his role, the length of time he stayed and why he did not contact the police to help quell the violence.

The Government of India’s Nanavati Commission Report also acknowledges “but for the backing and help of influential and resourceful persons, killing of Sikhs so swiftly and in large numbers could not have happened.”

While several individuals who took part in the attacks on Sikhs during the 1984 Sikh Genocide have been tried and convicted, senior government leaders who orchestrated the violence have not been brought to justice.

In March 2010, Kamal Nath, then India’s Minister of Road Transport and Highways was greeted by protests from the Sikh community during a visit to Canada. Canadian Sikhs had then called on the Canadian government to deny Nath a visa to enter the country.

WSO President Mukhbir Singh said, “it is absolutely outrageous that Kamal Nath, an individual accused of leading a mob that burnt Sikhs alive during the 1984 Sikh Genocide can be appointed a Chief Minister in India. Large-scale impunity for those involved in orchestrating the 1984 Sikh Genocide has remained an affront to the Sikh community and an insult to human rights in India. Today’s appointment is just another example of this. The selection of Kamal Nath was celebrated by India’s Congress Party as “an era of change” but for Sikhs, it is simply more of the same appalling disregard for Sikh human rights in India as we have seen for the past 35 years.”

The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) is a non-profit organization with a mandate to promote and protect the interests of Canadian Sikhs as well as to promote and advocate for the protection of human rights for all individuals, irrespective of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, and social and economic status.