Congress upbeat after Rahul’s reply on 1984, 2002 riots

• Congress takes pride that Rahul fielded tough questions in one-on-one interview
• Cong vice-president not concerned about short-term gains, but has big plans for the country
• BJP’s Jaitley pins down Rahul on the 1984 riots and his drawing parallel to Gujarat riots

New Delhi: Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi’s maiden TV interview has revived the confidence in the moribund Congress, with partymen enthused that their leader can lead the party and emerge victorious against the challenge posed by BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and the new-comer, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal.

The interview was a smash hit, as it generated 2.2 lakh tweets and 3.5 lakhs video viewings. It was a hot topic on the social media, with the youngsters mocking at the Congress leader for not giving straight answers to specific questions. The Congress, however, took pride in the fact that Rahul Gandhi fielded tough questions in a one-on-one interview lasting about 80-minutes and did not fall into the trap of the interviewer, who is known for grilling his guests.

Whether the queries related to anti-Sikh riots or corruption, Rahul Gandhi answered them all, without getting personal against Modi.

The Congress leaders recalled how Narendra Modi walked out of a TV interview, when he was asked about tendering apology for the Gujarat riots.

The Congress brought-in senior spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi on Tuesday to further elaborate on the themes outlined by Rahul Gandhi. Putting him on a high pedestal, he said that their leader was not concerned about the short-term gains, but has big plans for the country, way beyond the electoral goals.

Rahul Gandhi, it may be recalled, had stated that he was not scared of Modi or of poll defeat, as he was focused on his larger goals like opening up the system, bringing in youth and empowering women.

On drawing a parallel between 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Congress spokesperson said what Rahul failed to explain was about the action that had been taken by the Congress government against the accused.

He said that there were 442 convictions and political careers of several senior leaders were adversely affected, like Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar. Both were denied tickets to contest the Lok Sabha elections.

Countering the claim that Modi got a clean-chit, Singhvi pointed out how amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran disagreed with the findings of the SIT headed by former CBI Director R K Raghavan. He explained that the litigation concerning the riot cases is still at the preliminary stage and the final verdict is yet to come. Singhvi quoted former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who had advised Modi to observe Raj Dharma after the riots but the latter turned a Nelson's eye to it.

The BJP, on the other hand, pinned down Rahul Gandhi on the 1984 riots and his drawing parallel to the Gujarat riots. According to Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, in 1984, a slogan, “Khoon ka Badla Khoon” (blood for blood), started soon after the body of Indira Gandhi was brought to the AIIMS on October 31, 1984.

Jaitley said that the Congress leaders were seen leading the mobs. Sikhs were massacred at thousands of places. Nowhere did the police fire a single bullet to disperse mobs.

Cases were not investigated. A Commission of Inquiry was constituted, which came with a sham report. The Judge, heading the Commission, was subsequently made a Congress party’s Member of the Rajya Sabha.

In Gujarat, on the other hand, Jaitley recalled, thousands of people were arrested. The badly over-powered police fired at several places.

Almost 300 rioters were killed in police firing. Thousands of prosecutions were filed. Hundreds of people were sentenced. Chief Minister Narendra Modi personally went through several inquiries including the Supreme Court constituted SIT and no evidence was found against him.

The BJP leader also targetted Rahul Gandhi on his proposed alliance with the RJD convicted leader Lalu Yadav in Bihar. He charged the AICC Vice-President on looking the other way when it came to answering graft charges against Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

Similarly, he accused him of bailing out former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and for keeping mum on the 2G spectrum allocation and the coal blocks scam.