HS Phoolka Hits Out at Sonia Gandhi Over 1984 Riots Claims in Memoir
NEW DELHI: Senior advocate and Bharatiya Janata Party leader HS Phoolka has strongly questioned Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi over her account of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in her newly released memoir, accusing her of attempting to give a clean chit to her late husband and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and their family.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Phoolka asserted that the assertions made in her memoir, titled Belonging: A Journey of Love, run entirely contrary to official inquiry findings, judicial commission records, and established historical facts.
The Passage in Question
The political row erupted following the official release of Sonia Gandhi’s 544-page memoir, published by HarperCollins India. In the book, she recounts the harrowing hours following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, by her security guards, and addresses the contentious delay in deploying the Indian Army to curb the targeted violence that erupted against the Sikh community.
Writing about the decisions surrounding troop deployment, Sonia Gandhi noted:
“Although the Chief of the Army Staff General AS Vaidya had received his orders the same night as the assassination, we heard later that he had decided not to mobilize the nearest units because they were manned by Sikh soldiers, a factor that might have exacerbated the situation.”
She further described how Rajiv Gandhi made a televised appeal for calm almost immediately after taking the oath of office, visited tension-filled localities in Delhi, sent staff members to verify the safety of Sikh colleagues, and went out again on November 1 to urge citizens against seeking vengeance.
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Phoolka Cites Misra and Nanavati Commission Findings
HS Phoolka, who has represented victims and survivors of the 1984 carnage in courtrooms for over four decades, rejected the version presented in the book as an absolute untruth that seeks to absolve top political leadership of accountability.
According to Phoolka, the explanation shifting responsibility onto then Army Chief General AS Vaidya contradicts the documented conclusions of both the Justice Ranganath Misra Commission and the Justice GT Nanavati Commission, which investigated the massacre and the administrative paralysis in the capital.
Phoolka pointed out that substantial military manpower was already stationed and available in Delhi at the time the violence began to escalate:
- Available Troop Strength: Nearly 6,000 soldiers were present within Delhi cantonment areas on the morning of November 1, 1984.
- Findings on Delay: The Misra Commission explicitly observed that had even 5,000 of the available soldiers been deployed to conduct flag marches through the streets of Delhi on the morning of November 1, at least 2,000 innocent lives could have been saved.
- Procedural Chain of Requisition: Under statutory rules, the operational deployment of the military for internal law and order requires a formal requisition from the civil administration and magistrate, rather than unilateral moves by the Chief of Army Staff acting on his own initiative.
“Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister at the time. What action did he take? If Rajiv Gandhi himself is not held responsible, then what action did he take against the administrators and police officials who were responsible for the massacre of Sikhs and who failed to call upon the army that was readily available in Delhi on the morning of November 1?” Phoolka asked.
Rajiv Gandhi’s Past Remarks Under Renewed Scrutiny
During the briefing, the senior advocate also recalled Rajiv Gandhi’s controversial public remarks made shortly after his mother’s death during a massive public rally at the Boat Club in New Delhi.
“In his very first public rally after taking charge, Rajiv Gandhi stated that when a big tree falls, the earth shakes. Through that statement, an attempt was made to rationalize and justify the widespread violence. Now, after decades, Sonia Gandhi is attempting through her book to give a clean chit to Rajiv Gandhi and her family. Her claims are completely contrary to the official records and represent an absolute falsehood,” Phoolka said.
Broader Political Repercussions
The controversy has triggered a sharp political confrontation between the ruling party and the Congress. Bharatiya Janata Party leaders characterized the memoir as an effort at political whitewashing, arguing that it seeks to gloss over key historical tragedies associated with past Congress administrations.
In response, Congress leaders rejected the allegations, accusing the opposition of politicizing deeply personal reflections and raking up historical controversies for partisan gain ahead of upcoming state assembly elections.
For deeper coverage and visual details of the legal objections raised during the press briefing, watch the Sonia Gandhi Book Row Coverage
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