New Delhi: In a scathing attack on Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal on Friday claimed that the 2002 Gujarat violence would not have taken place had the guilty in the 1984 riots been punished.
SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur said that while some officers were punished for Gujarat riots, that had not been the case with those behind the 1984 violence.
Kaur, who was among the panellists at a conclave here, alleged instead the accused have been "rewarded".
Defending Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, BJP MP Smriti Irani said he had issued shoot-at-sight orders soon after the violence erupted in 2002. "80,000 Hindus were arrested. You tell me, is the Chief Minister communal?" she asked while terming the violence as "unfortunate".
Speaking at the Conclave, Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena youth wing chief, said his message to the people was "always Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra."
He said in Punjab, his party will talk for Punjabis, in Maharashtra, it will be for Marathis, "but in India, it will be for Indians".
PTI
