New Delhi, November 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday rejected Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s account of the 1984 anti-Sikh violence in her memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love, accusing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of responsibility for the massacre and alleging that Congress leaders accused in connection with the violence were rewarded with political positions.
Reacting to the memoir’s release, Sirsa disputed Sonia Gandhi’s claim that Rajiv Gandhi was deeply saddened and distressed after the violence. He said she might be making the claim out of a sense of moral responsibility as his wife, but alleged that Rajiv Gandhi was responsible for what happened.
Referring to Rajiv Gandhi’s widely cited remark after Indira Gandhi’s assassination, Sirsa said: “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.” He alleged that the statement had justified the massacre.
Sirsa further accused the Congress leadership of rewarding people allegedly involved in the violence instead of holding them accountable. Naming Kamal Nath, Sajjan Kumar, H.K.L. Bhagat and Dharam Dass Shastri, he claimed they gained political positions despite allegations linked to the anti-Sikh violence.
The Delhi Minister also rejected accounts suggesting that Indira Gandhi had expressed grief following the June 1984 military operation at Sri Darbar Sahib, popularly known as the Golden Temple, in Amritsar. He alleged that the operation was a planned attack and accused the Gandhi family of disrespecting Sikh religious institutions.
“The Gandhi family committed the eternal sin of attacking the Guru Granth Sahib. Their false tears are not going to make up for the atrocities they committed on the Sikh community. They have the blood of thousands on their hands,” Sirsa said.
Questioning the purpose of revisiting the events in a memoir, he alleged that the Congress was attempting to project a false sense of responsibility.
The 1984 anti-Sikh violence followed the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. Thousands of Sikhs were killed in attacks across several parts of the country, particularly in Delhi. The violence and allegations concerning the role of political leaders and officials have remained subjects of legal proceedings and political controversy.
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