:dateline:In a meeting of Sikh Genocide Victim families at Ludhiana on May 4, the president of the 1984 �Riots� Victims Association, S. Surjit Singh, stated that it was very unfortunate that the BJP led Union government has not fulfilled its commitment of punishing culprits responsible for Sikh genocides.
Commenting on the announcement made by the Union Home Ministry for issuing grants of Rs. 500,000 to 1,020 victim families, S. Surjit Singh said that it was the policy of the Union government to torpedo unity of victim families and break their strength. He added that about 30,000 families demobilized to Punjab during the Sikh genocide and 27,000 have been issued the �Red Card� by the Government. He asked the Union Home Ministry to explain on what basis was it decided that the grants were to be issued to only 1,020 families.
He stated that the BJP led Union government had promised to re-investigate 247 cases of Sikh genocide but till now only 4 cases are being re-investigated. He said that it was policy of the Union government to keep victim families deprived of justice by dividing their strength.
He announced that if the Union government doesn�t facilitate justice to the victim families, they will start hunger strikes at Jantar Mantar starting next month.
During the 1984 massacres, violent attacks were targeted at the Sikh community in different parts of the country by anti-Sikh mobs, most notably led by the members of the Congress party, in response to the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Official Indian government reports admit to about 2800 deaths across India, including 2100 in Delhi. �Other independent sources estimates the number of deaths to be around 8,000.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, the main Indian investigating agency, believes the acts of violence were organised with the support from the then Delhi police and some central government officials. �Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as Prime Minister after his mother�s death and, when asked about the riots, said �when a big tree falls, the earth shakes�.
Earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party in New Delhi has given compensation packages to victim families.
