When the new Parliament meets for the first time for monsoon session, two young MPs would probably recall stories they have heard of a tempestuous day 35 years ago, when then MP from Punjab Bimal Kaur Khalsa took on then PM Rajiv Gandhi, accusing him of the “anti-Sikh riots” of 1984, amidst cheers from opposition in Lok Sabha.
On June 24, Rahul Gandhi would be back in Parliament, having retained his Rae Bareli seat.
Also, in the Parliament would be Bimal Kaur’s son and first-time MP Sarabjit Singh Khalsa , 45, whose father Beant Singh gunned down former PM Indira Gandhi in 1984 in the aftermath of Operation Bluestar in June that year – a killing that triggered a wave of anti-Sikh riots across the country after her son Rajiv succeeded her.
“I have heard this from my mother. Rajiv Gandhi was sitting in front of her in Parliament. She pointed a finger at him and directly accused him of being complicit in the anti-Sikh riots,” Sarabjit told TOI during his Lok Sabha election campaign.
“She said the entire opposition, including LK Advani, had thumped tables and cheered her,” Sarabjit added.
Bimal Kaur, widow of Beant Singh, had won the Lok Sabha election in 1989 by over 2lakh votes from Ropar (now Anandpur Sahib) on a Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) ticket, five years after the attack on Sikhs and Rajiv’s public statement, “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.”
She had polled over 7lakh votes, the highest among all the 13 seats in Punjab that year.
This year, her son Sarabjit won as an Independent candidate from Faridkot seat in Punjab with a margin of about 70,000 votes.
Beant was one of Indira Gandhi’s two bodyguards who shot her down on October 31, 1984, along with Satwant Singh. While Beant was shot dead on the spot, Satwant was tried and hanged later.
While Bimal Kaur died in 1991, with controversies still surrounding the cause of her death, Rajiv was assassinated in the same year. Sarabjit was 12 when he lost his mother, and Rahul was 21 when Rajiv was killed.
Sarabjit, however, had nothing to say about Rahul. When asked what he thought about the Congress leader, Sarabjit said: “He has not got a chance yet to do anything. He is yet to prove himself. Whether he will turn out to be good or bad for the country, only time will tell.”
“I have never met either Rahul or Priyanka (Gandhi Vadra). So, I cannot say how they are as a person,” Sarabjit added.
Sarabjit said when he attends Parliament, he would concentrate on issues that are plaguing Punjab – from drugs to water sharing and cases of sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib to Bandi Singhs, a large number of Sikhs incarcerated for decades.
“There are issues all over. Punjab has always been at the receiving end in every way,” he said. Asked what his first task as an MP would be, Sarabjit said: “ Guru Granth Sahib maharaj ki beyadapi hua hai. Uske khilaaf jo bande hain, unko saza dilane ki baat karenge.” (The Guru Granth Sahib has been defiled. I will raise the issue of identification of those behind this and how to get them punished).
On June 24, Rahul Gandhi would be back in Parliament, having retained his Rae Bareli seat.
Also, in the Parliament would be Bimal Kaur’s son and first-time MP Sarabjit Singh Khalsa , 45, whose father Beant Singh gunned down former PM Indira Gandhi in 1984 in the aftermath of Operation Bluestar in June that year – a killing that triggered a wave of anti-Sikh riots across the country after her son Rajiv succeeded her.
“I have heard this from my mother. Rajiv Gandhi was sitting in front of her in Parliament. She pointed a finger at him and directly accused him of being complicit in the anti-Sikh riots,” Sarabjit told TOI during his Lok Sabha election campaign.
“She said the entire opposition, including LK Advani, had thumped tables and cheered her,” Sarabjit added.
Bimal Kaur, widow of Beant Singh, had won the Lok Sabha election in 1989 by over 2lakh votes from Ropar (now Anandpur Sahib) on a Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) ticket, five years after the attack on Sikhs and Rajiv’s public statement, “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.”
She had polled over 7lakh votes, the highest among all the 13 seats in Punjab that year.
This year, her son Sarabjit won as an Independent candidate from Faridkot seat in Punjab with a margin of about 70,000 votes.
Beant was one of Indira Gandhi’s two bodyguards who shot her down on October 31, 1984, along with Satwant Singh. While Beant was shot dead on the spot, Satwant was tried and hanged later.
While Bimal Kaur died in 1991, with controversies still surrounding the cause of her death, Rajiv was assassinated in the same year. Sarabjit was 12 when he lost his mother, and Rahul was 21 when Rajiv was killed.
Sarabjit, however, had nothing to say about Rahul. When asked what he thought about the Congress leader, Sarabjit said: “He has not got a chance yet to do anything. He is yet to prove himself. Whether he will turn out to be good or bad for the country, only time will tell.”
“I have never met either Rahul or Priyanka (Gandhi Vadra). So, I cannot say how they are as a person,” Sarabjit added.
Sarabjit said when he attends Parliament, he would concentrate on issues that are plaguing Punjab – from drugs to water sharing and cases of sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib to Bandi Singhs, a large number of Sikhs incarcerated for decades.
“There are issues all over. Punjab has always been at the receiving end in every way,” he said. Asked what his first task as an MP would be, Sarabjit said: “ Guru Granth Sahib maharaj ki beyadapi hua hai. Uske khilaaf jo bande hain, unko saza dilane ki baat karenge.” (The Guru Granth Sahib has been defiled. I will raise the issue of identification of those behind this and how to get them punished).
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