Jagdish Tytler attends Congress membership drive event; ridicules opposition's allegations

Despite inviting the ire of the opposition, 1984 anti-Sikh riots Jagdish Tytler attended an event marking the commencement of the Congress membership drive on Monday. His appointment as a permanent invitee to the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee on October 28 was staunchly opposed by BJP as well as Shiromani Akali Dal. However, Tytler flatly refused to acknowledge the allegations and claimed that other parties were "scared" of him. 

Congress leader Jagdish Tytler remarked, "Someone is scared of me. What is the allegation? I am asking you- what are the allegations against me? One can say whatever one wants to. Please answer what the accusation is. Then I will answer." 

Coming down heavily on his appointment, Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu remarked,  "Personally, even I am very angry, but party-level decisions are not something I can comment on. They only have to answer this. Everyone wants to say something or the other. They all have pain in their hearts, but they are not saying anything because there is also something called a party protocol." 

Alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots

A senior leader of Congress, Tytler has served as a Union Minister in the past. However, he has faced a barrage of accusations for the last three decades for his alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Along with Sajjan Kumar, he was another mainstream Congress leader who was accused of leading mobs to kill Sikhs. While the Nanavati Commission hinted at his role in the riots, successive Congress governments did not show the inclination to press charges against him.

In fact, he was even inducted as a minister after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power at the Centre. During the second term of the UPA government, the CBI gave a clean chit to Tytler. But a Sessions Court rejected the closure report and ordered an investigation into his role. While there has been public pressure on Congress to cut off ties with Tytler, it has often accommodated him on a public platform.

In January 2019, Congress faced a lot of criticism for giving a front-row seat to Tytler during the ceremony of former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit taking over as the Delhi Congress chief. Stoking another controversy, the anti-Sikh riots accused joined the protest of the Congress party against the Delhi Police's action in Jamia Millia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University at India Gate on December 16, 2019. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was one of the prominent leaders sitting on a dharna on this occasion.