Ministers assuage 1984 riot memories

There was a time when they were beaten up and turned away when they asked for more.

But after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's emotional apology in Parliament over the Operation Blue Star and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, two top representatives of the government today met 1984 riot victims with folded hands and admitted that if justice was not done even after 21 years, it represented a "failure of the system, of the law".

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan and Minister of State for Home SP Jaiswal met widows and other relatives of riot victims who had been on a "dharna" on the Parliament Street for the last three days demanding punishment to the perpetrators of the violence.

The ministers, who were accompanied by Delhi Police Commissioner KK Paul, accepted a memorandum from the riot-affected addressed to the Prime Minister.

"We have come as representatives of the government. We understand your feelings," Jaiswal said. "Even the Prime Minister's eyes brimmed over. He has felt your pain, the government has felt your pain," he said.

Jaiswal said the government had decided that the rate of compensation for riot victims would be uniform all across the country and all pending claims would be settled in "two-three months".

Children of riot victims would also be provided government jobs, he said. "Please put behind your pain and start a new life. All your problems will be solved. Give the government a chance to put the healing touch on your wounds," Jaiswal said.

The kin of the victims apprised the ministers of the problems faced by them due to shortage of money. "The authorities cut off our electricity because we cannot pay the bills. Our colonies have no water and our children are taking to drugs as they have no jobs," said a widow from Tilak Vihar, a Sikh resettlement colony. Chavan promised to take their message to the Prime Minister.

Before the Union ministers came to meet them, some heated scenes were witnessed as the riot-affected insisted that they would meet only the Prime Minister. But senior police officials convinced then to meet his representatives. Then, some of the riot-affected demanded that they be given a chance to meet Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Jaiswal assured them that they would try to fix an appointment for them with the senior leaders. The riot-affected also raised slogans against Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, virtually indicted in the Nanavati report, demanding that "the killers be hanged".

The Akali Dal (Badal), which had organised the "dharna", later announced that the protest had been withdrawn for the time being. "In view of the government's assurance, we are postponing our protest for two months," party general secretary Onkar Singh Thapar said.