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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000676 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM IN
 
SUBJECT: BHARAT BALLOT 09: Tytler Ruling Angers Sikhs, Congress 
Votes at Risk 
 
REF: A) New Delhi 559;  B) New Delhi 567;  C) New Delhi 522 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On April 2, the GOI's Central Bureau of 
Investigation (CBI) cleared senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler of 
his alleged role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, in which at 
least 3,000 Sikhs died.   The ruling comes as Tytler begins his 
campaign as the Congress Party's candidate in Northeast Delhi in 
upcoming April-May parliamentary elections (Ref. B).  The CBI's 
Tytler decision has stirred political tensions as Sikh communities 
in Delhi and Punjab threaten to stage mass public protests if the 
controversial leader's name is not withdrawn from election 
contention.  The emotive issue has the potential to negatively 
impact the Congress Party's chances in 21 parliamentary seats in the 
forthcoming hotly contested general elections.  End summary. 
 
CBI Exonerates Tytler 
--- 
 
¶2.  (U) The CBI had long been investigating Congress Party leader 
Jagdish Tyler's role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in which over 3,000 
Sikhs were killed by mobs seeking to avenge the assassination of 
Indira Gandhi.  The Nanavati Commission had fingered Tytler as one 
of the Congress Party leaders that led the murderous mobs and 
exhorted them to kill more Sikhs.  In filing its "no-action" 
recommendation with the court on April 2, the CBI noted that the 
evidence of two witnesses it questioned is "inconsistent, unreliable 
and unworthy of credit." The Congress Party's March announcement of 
Tytler as one of its candidates for the forthcoming elections from a 
Delhi constituency had provoked criticism from the Sikh Community, 
the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the 
ruling party in Punjab (Ref. B).  The CBI action this week fueled 
the protests to a new level. 
 
CBI: "CONGRESS" BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION 
--- 
 
¶3.  (U) Opposition parties quickly and loudly condemned the CBI 
action.  They accused the Congress Party of manipulating the CBI to 
exonerate Tytler.  The Shiromani Akali Dal, an ally of the Bharatiya 
Janata Party (BJP), asserted that the CBI has been "misused" by the 
Congress.  Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal chastised the 
government for "ensuring [a] clean chit to the known killers of 
thousands of Sikhs, whom the Congress has decorated with party 
ticket of the parliamentary elections."  SAD has promised to re-open 
the cases if the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) returns 
to power at the center.  It plans to take the matter to the Supreme 
Court.  Senior BJP leader Balbir Punj contends that the "credibility 
of the CBI is under cloud and the Congress has misused the agency." 
 
 
¶4.  (U) There have been other high profile cases where CBI actions 
have been construed by opposition political parties to be 
politically motivated.  The CBI ruling in the Tytler case reinforces 
their allegations that the CBI is no longer functioning as an 
independent law enforcement body and is instead responding to 
Congress Party orders designed to give the party electoral 
advantage. 
 
CBI FINDING CAUSES PROTESTS 
--- 
 
¶5.  (U) Sikhs in Delhi and the Punjab, in the meantime, have taken 
to the streets.  Shortly after the CBI ruling, Sikh leaders Onkar 
Singh Thapar, Manjeet Singh GK and Avtar Singh Hit led protests in 
front of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters as 
well as Sonia Gandhi's residence in Delhi. The demonstrators burnt 
effigies of Tytler and Sajjan Kumar (another Congress leader who is 
also an accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots) in front of the AICC 
headquarters and raised slogans against Congress for nominating them 
for Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. They alleged that the two Congress 
leaders were involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and their 
nomination should be withdrawn to respect the sentiments of Sikh 
community.  Protesters tried to force entry into the Congress 
headquarters and were later detained by police.  Smaller protests 
occurred throughout Punjab resulting in some instances of violence 
and arrests. 
 
Congress Party Anxiety 
 
NEW DELHI 00000676  002 OF 002 
 
 
--- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Punjab Congress Party state legislator Sukhpal Singh 
Khaira, Punjab told POLOFF that the CBI action will have serious 
implications for the party in the forthcoming elections.  He 
asserted that the Congress should have been careful before 
allocating a seat to Tytler and that the Congress high command 
should review the decision.  Bir Devinder Singh, former Deputy 
Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and a Sikh member of the All 
India Congress Committee has resigned in protest. He stated, "the 
CBI has done great harm to the Sikhs. Congress has again rubbed salt 
on the wounds of the Sikh community." 
 
Comment: Political Fallout 
--- 
¶7.  (SBU) The Tytler matter will become a campaign issue as Punjab 
and Delhi go to the polls on May 7 and 13.  Congress candidates 
could face some Sikh backlash in 21 constituencies: 13 from Punjab, 
seven from Delhi and one from Chandigarh.  The Congress Party's 
prospects in Delhi and Punjab have looked positive (Ref. C).  The 
CBI action will not by itself change the political landscape, but it 
could affect close seats with concentrations of large Sikh votes in 
the two states. 
 
BURLEIGH