Moments after the Delhi High Court held Congress leader Sajjan Kumar guilty in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Union Minister Arun Jaitley said Kumar's conviction is a 'delayed vindication of Justice'.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Jaitley said, "The coverups are now being defeated. Sajjan Kumar was a symbol of 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The legacy of 1984 anti-Sikh riots hangs around the neck of Congress and Gandhi family".
A Delhi High Court, on Monday, reversed the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in connection to his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, sentencing the Congress MP to life imprisonment.
The court has asked Kumar to surrender by 31 December.
The court convicted the Congress leader under various counts of Indian Penal Code (IPC) including murder, criminal conspiracy, wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot, mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house and injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class.
Several political leaders from across-party lines also reacted to Sajjan's conviction.
Taking to Twitter, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, "Nobody involved in any riot should be allowed to escape no matter how powerful the individual maybe...."
Senior BJP leader and national general secretary of the party Ram Madhav tweeted, "Justice to 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims finally...thanks to the efforts of home minister Rajnath Singh and Ministry of Home Affairs for reopening the cases deliberately suppressed by the previous government."
AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj called the 1984 killing of Sikhs following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by two of her Sikh bodyguards a "permanent blot on Delhi".
"Though much delayed, the High Court judgment on Sajjan Kumar is a landmark. State power cannot be used to massacre innocent citizens. Had exemplary punishment been given to perpetrators of the 1984 riots, nobody would have repeated it in 2002."
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said: "Justice delayed but not denied."
Taking to Twitter BJP's Amit Malviya said, "Ironical that on the day Sajjan Kumar gets life sentence for his role in state sponsored Sikh genocide of 1984, another man named by an eye witness, an IE reporter, for leading a mob that killed two Sikhs in Gurudwara Rakabganj will be sworn in as Congress CM of Madhya Pradesh."
Welcoming the verdict, Akali Dal leader and Delhi MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the next in the list after Sajjan Kumar were Jagdish Tytler and Kamal Nath.
Sajjan Kumar and five others were tried in a case involving the killing of five Sikhs -- Kehar Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Raghuvender Singh, Narender Pal Singh and Kuldeep Singh, who were from the same family -- by a mob in Delhi Cantonment's Raj Nagar.
(With inputs from agencies)
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