Rahul Gandhi reacts on Sam Pitroda's remark on 1984 anti-Sikh riots

Sam Pitroda

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi asked Sam Pitroda to apologise for his "happened, so what" remarks on 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

"I think what Sam Pitroda Ji said is completely out of line and he should apologise for it. I think 1984 was a needless tragedy that caused tremendous pain," Rahul said in a Facebook post on Friday asserting that "justice has to be done" and the people responsible for 1984 tragedy have to be punished.

"The people who were responsible for the 1984 tragedy have to be punished. The Former PM, Manmohan Singh Ji has apologised. My mother, Sonia Gandhi Ji has apologised. We all have made our position very clear - that 1984 was a terrible tragedy and should never have happened," he further said.

Terming Pitroda's comments as "completely out of line", the Gandhi scion said, "What Mr. Sam Pitroda has said is absolutely and completely out of line and is not appreciated. I will be communicating this to him directly. He must apologise for his comment."

On Thursday, BJP, citing the Nanavati Commission report, had said that "instructions to kill" came directly from then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's office.

In response to this, Pitroda, while rubbishing the allegations, had said, "I don't think so, this is also another lie, and what about 1984? You speak about what you have done in five years. It happened in 1984, so what? (1984 hua toh hua). What have you done? (Ab kya hai '84 ka? Aapne kya kiya 5 saal mein, uski baat kariye. '84 mein hua to hua. Aapne kya kiya?)"

Under attack over his remarks "happened, so what" on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Congress leader Sam Pitroda on Friday apologised for that saying they were blown out of proportion because his Hindi is not good.

"The statement I made was completely twisted, taken out of context because my Hindi is not good, what I meant was 'jo hua vo bura hua,' (what happened was bad), I could not translate 'bura' (bad) in my mind," Pitroda, a confidant of Congress President Rahul Gandhi said.

Top News Stories Of The Day

• Factory owner kidnapped in filmy style from Palghar
• Mumbai Crime: Failed actor turns to chain snatching in local trains
• Tiger found dead in Melghat reserve
• Highway Gomantak in Bandra fight with hsg society over maintenance
• 6 dead as cars crash head-on trying to avoid biker near Palghar
• Toxic gas, lack of safety equipment cost workers their lives in Thane
• Byculla museum death: BMC orders probe, cops to wait before action
• Mumbai Crime: 63-yr-old doctor gets bail in molestation case in Bandra
• Mumbai volunteers refused space to stock up relief materials for Odisha
• Now, meds at Mumbai civic hospitals to have MCGM mark and bar, QR codes
• Maharashtra scientist discovers Mizo rain snake
• Mumbai: Law students relieved as GLC agrees to have retest
• Praveen Pardeshi to be new BMC chief
• After HC order, cops finally file FIR against 19-year-old's parents
• The dark side: Have you seen these 12 most haunted places in Mumbai?
• Himanshu Roy death anniversary: Mumbai's top cop whose life was cut short by suicide
• Kelly and Kody: The couple's steamy and dreamy photos are too hot to handle!

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates