Welcoming the sentencing of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday hoped that those involved in the 2002 Gujarat communal riots and the 2013 Muzaffarnagar violence are also punished.
"I welcome the judgement of the High Court on Sajjan Kumar. Though it took 34 long years for the decision to come... better late than never," Kejriwal told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.
"I also hope that justice will be done for all the other mass murders which happened in the country after that, be it 2002 (Gujarat violence) or 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots... all such riots are carried out for political benefits," he added.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor also hoped that all other politicians involved in the 'Sikh genocide' will get the "harshest of punishment".
Kejriwal said the people of the country want to live in peace, and Hindus and Muslims do not want to fight with each other.
"Riots are carried out at the behest of political parties and political leaders. If exemplary punishments are given, no one would dare to do it in future," he said.
Meanwhile, AAP legislator Jarnail Singh said that a law should be brought against all mob lynching incidents and communal riots.
Sajjan Kumar, a Congress veteran, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court on Monday in the anti-Sikh riots in 1984 after which Kumar quit the Congress party on Tuesday morning.
Elected thrice to the Lok Sabha from the Outer Delhi constituency, the latest being 2004, Kumar had been sidelined by the party since 2009 when he was denied a ticket to contest the general elections following allegations of his involvement in the riots which the High Court on Monday described as a "crime against humanity".
--IANS
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