Sajjan Kumar may have been coming to terms with the Delhi high court judgment of his conviction in the mass killing of Sikhs in 1984 even as the Congress distanced itself from him, but BJP president is unsparing. In a series of tweets, Amit Shah hit out at the Congress and highlighted how it's not an individual’s crime but that of the Congress as a whole.

Amit Shah said, “Their workers and leaders went on rampage raising provocative slogans, raping women and murdering men in cold blood. Yet no one was even punished despite multiple commissions and several eyewitnesses”.

Sajjan Kumar’s case had as many as 12 eyewitnesses. In fact, the court observed how it became a ‘free for all’ in those few days of lawlessness when Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler, Kamal Nath and (late) HKL Bhagat led mobs of thousands to target Sikh refugee colonies and gurdwaras. An estimated 3,000 people were butchered on the streets of Delhi.

The anti-Sikh riots that were primarily carried out by Congress's politicians followed the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, who in turn, were purportedly avenging Operation Blue Star.

In spite of scores of witnesses, including that of a journalist, justice remained elusive for the victimised Sikhs until this Monday. Shah lashed out, “Victims of 1984 riots lost all hope of justice because those responsible for crime against them enjoyed political patronage of Congress leadership”.

 Shah is factually correct. The mob was led by Congress leaders in 1984. In fact, the then caretaker Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi had infamously said, “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.” Thus, the acting PM justified the pogrom by branding it as a legitimate revenge for the assassination of his mother.

Shah did not miss the opportunity to credit Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the verdict as the latter had ordered the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) on the matter in 2015. Regardless of the role, the SIT played in the conviction of Kumar, there’s no denying the fact that the Congress is visibly embarrassed. What made things more ironic is that the conviction of Kumar came on a day when another 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom accused Kamal Nath was sworn in as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.