Senior AAP leader and leader of opposition in Punjab assembly – HS Phoolka has threatened to quit the party if it allies with the Congress, PTI has reported. He was quoted as saying that he would be the first person to quit AAP if there is any sort of direct or indirect alliance with the Congress.
As per the report, Phoolka who has served as a lawyer for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, has categorically stated that any understanding with the Congress would be equivalent to giving a clean chit to the alleged perpetrators of the riots.
Besides being a politician, Phoolka is also a lawyer who has represented the 1984 riot victims and has pinned the blame for the riots on the Congress party. He has also stated that he would keep continuing to fight for the riot victims.
Incidentally this episode sheds light on how the 1984 riots still keep haunting the Congress party and its political relationships.
We had reported this morning that Delhi MLA and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa had put up posters asking Rahul Gandhi to hug a victim of 1984 Sikh genocide, instead of making a show of hugging the Prime Minister.
The posters also insinuated the Congress’ guilt with regards to the anti-Sikh riots with the content stating that:
- Rahul Gandhi, please don’t hug people to gain publicity, hug some people to try and heal some wounds that the Congress has given them
- Hug Jagdish Kaur, whose entire family was burned alive in the 1984 Sikh genocide
- Do you possess the courage to clear the hatred spread by your family?
In all a total of 3,325 people are believed to have been killed during the riots, with many Congressmen alleged to have directly participated in the carnage.