Declare 1984 anti-Sikh riots as genocide, says LS member

New Delhi: A Shiromani Akali Dal member in the Lok Sabha Monday demanded that the 1984 anti-Sikh riots should be declared as a genocide and accused the Congress of protecting the guilty.

The member Prem Singh Chandumajra made the remarks during the Zero Hour, soon after the Delhi High Court sentenced Congress leader Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

Innocent Sikhs were killed and the riots should be declared as a genocide, he said, adding that everybody should welcome the court's verdict.

He also said that someone facing allegations of being part of the riots is going to become the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, an apparent reference to Congress leader Kamal Nath.

During the Zero Hour, BJP members raised slogans demanding that the guilty in the riots should be punished.