New Delhi: At the time of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the former Prime Minister of India, stood between the blood-thirsty mob and helpless Sikhs from being lynched and killed, recalled RSS ideologue KN Govindacharya.
“I have seen that side of Vajpayee... His house was at Raisina Road, and in front of his house was a taxi stand. Just few steps away there was a Youth Congress office, where we have Rajiv Bhawan, and suddenly an angry mob emerged from the Youth Congress office.”
“Atal ji saw the mob was baying for the blood of Sikh taxi drivers, and in that situation he stood between the mob and the Sikh taxi drivers. He took morcha till the police came, if you see that moment you will know that it was not a politically correct step. He did that only for humanity,” said Govindacharya.
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots had erupted in the backdrop of Indira Gandhi’s murder by her bodyguards. There were a series of organised pogroms against Sikhs in the country, and in Delhi alone 3,000 deaths happened due to targeted killing.
“The step he took at the time of 1984 riots showed us how he pursued power – not at all costs,” said Govindacharya.
The Sangh ideologue further said, “This is not a well-known fact about him because Atal ji did not tom-tom about his good deeds.”
The country lost its statesman on August 16, 2018. He will be cremated at Smriti Sthal near Rajghat on the banks of Yamuna.
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