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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000773 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM PREL IN
 
SUBJECT: BHARAT BALLOT 09: THE GHOST OF THE 1984 RIOTS HAUNTS 
CONGRESS PARTY, FORCES IT TO DUMP TYTLER AND SAJJAN KUMMAR 
 
REF: A) New Delhi 676; B) New Delhi 567; C) 05 New Delhi 6310 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: The Congress Party on April 9 withdrew the 
nominations of Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar as candidates in the 
April-May Lok Sabha elections in response to outrage by Sikh 
activists that the candidates would not have to answer for their 
alleged roles in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.  Anger has simmered since 
both leaders' nominations were announced in March (Ref. B). 
Tensions, however, reached a boiling point two weeks ago when the 
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) issued a clean chit to Tytler, 
leading to protests throughout Punjab and Delhi.  The frustration 
and anger at the apparent impunity of the two candidates was 
encapsulated in a "shoe hurling" incident on April 7, when a Sikh 
journalist hurled his shoe at Home Minister P. Chidambramam and 
garnered media attention nationwide.  The Congress Party was 
blind-sided by the strident opposition to the Tytler-Kumar 
nominations, and the party was forced to cut its losses by 
withdrawing the leaders' nominations.  The firestorm over Tytler and 
Kumar reaffirms that Congress' role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots will 
continue to haunt the party.   End Summary. 
 
CONGRESS GETS ELECTORAL JITTERS 
---- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) To contain the electoral damage in states with a sizeable 
Sikh constituency -- such as Punjab, Haryana and Delhi -- the 
Congress decided to remove controversial leaders Jagdish Tytler and 
Sajjan Kumar from contesting the Lok Sabha elections on April 9. 
Both had been elected to the previous parliament and Tytler has 
served as a Minister in past governments.  Prime Minister Manmohan 
Singh - a Sikh from Punjab - told press the decision was "better 
late than never," and that it represented the Congress Party's deep 
respect for the "sentiments of the Sikhs."  Congress General 
Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi noted that both Tytler and Kumar decided 
to withdraw from elections as they did not wish to "further 
embarrass" the party.  Political pundits say that both leaders were 
directed to leave by Congress leadership amid growing outrage over 
their apparent immunity from prosecution (Ref. A). 
 
PROTESTS ALARM CONGRESS 
---- 
 
¶3.  (U) On April 3, large-scale protests erupted in Punjab, Delhi, 
Haryana, and Jammu after the CBI cleared Tytler of his alleged role 
in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.  Sikh protesters across the country 
gathered outside of Congress Party offices, burning effigies and 
demanding Tytler be punished.  Public outrage over the ruling 
reached a tipping point on April 7 when Jarnail Singh, a Sikh 
journalist, hurled a shoe at Home Minister P. Chidambaram during a 
press conference on the Tytler case.  Jarnail said he was frustrated 
by the Congress Party's inaction against those involved in the 1984 
riots.  The "shoe hurling" incident was played in continuous loop by 
Indian TV outlets throughout the week, intensifying public pressure 
on the Congress Party to withdraw both leaders' nominations from 
fast-approaching Lok Sabha elections. 
 
OPPOSITION PARTIES SIEZE THE ISSUE 
---- 
 
¶4.  (U) The Shromani Akali Dal (SAD), the main protagonist of the 
Congress Party in Punjab and the senior partner of the ruling 
SAD-BJP government in the state,  received a political windfall from 
the CBI's "clean chit" and  the seemingly spontaneous public 
protests at Congress Party after the shoe-throwing incident.  It 
seized the opportunity to blast the Congress Party and accuse it of 
being anti-Sikh.  SAD leaders charged the Congress party of honoring 
Tytler and Kumar by giving them parliamentary tickets and then 
protecting them instead of prosecuting them so they could be sent to 
jail.   It accused the Congress of "yet again hurting the sentiments 
of the Sikhs."  Prakash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab and 
SAD President, dismissed the Congress' withdrawal of Tytler-Kumar 
tickets, saying it does not "put balm on the wounds of Sikhs."  He 
 
NEW DELHI 00000773  002 OF 002 
 
 
ridiculed the Prime Minister for not being consulted by the party 
before Tytler and Kumar were nominated for the parliamentary seats 
and then again by the CBI before it exonerated Tyler.  He promised 
the establishment of fast track courts for expedited trials if the 
National Democratic Alliance -- led by SAD's state coalition 
partner, the BJP -- returned to power. 
 
¶5.  (U) Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal suggested that 
Tytler and Sajjan may be blackmailing the Congress leadership 
("might be aware of some weak point") in explaining why they had 
been offered seats again.  Some disgruntled Congress party leaders 
in the state used the controversy as an excuse to leave the party. 
The BJP, which has consistently been a strong critic of the Congress 
Party on its role in the 1984 riots, had demanded the withdrawal of 
tickets to Tytler and Kumar.   Senior BJP leader Balbir Punj 
condemned the shoe throwing incident, but added it "should act like 
an eye opener for Congress because it shows as to what extent the 
Sikh community is angry over the gross injustice handed over to them 
for the last 25 years...while more than 4,000 people were killed 
only 12 odd persons have been booked while all the big fish have 
been let off". 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In response, Congress representatives have accused the 
media of "sensationalizing" the story.  They also claimed that the 
BJP and the SAD have attempted to spin the Tytler-Kumar nominations 
to their electoral advantage ahead of April-May polls.  They 
continue to argue that Tytler and Kumar have never been found guilty 
in court.  Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal chose to 
focus on the shoe throwing journalist, saying "if journalists take 
upon themselves and express their political inclinations in this 
form, I can say that journalists are themselves not performing the 
duties that they are supposed to perform". 
 
COMMENT:  CONGRESS WOBBLED 
---- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Congress Party was completely blind-sided by the 
latest furor over Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar.  After the 
shoe-throwing incident, as angry protests broke out throughout 
Punjab and in Delhi, the Congress seemed stunned and immobilized. 
Party officials ran for cover, no one daring to say anything of 
substance because Sonia Gandhi was out of town for several days 
touring southern India and there was no one at home to make a 
decision.  As the protests gathered steam, Sonia returned to Delhi, 
and it became clear that controversy had the potential to damage the 
party's prospects in up to two dozen seats in northern India, the 
party dumped the two loyalists.  Despite the about face by the 
Congress, it is clear that the controversy will cost the party some 
votes in a handful of constituencies.  It is hard to predict whether 
these losses will be enough to tip the results there. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) In nominating the Tytler and Kumar for party tickets in 
March, Congress Party strategists may be excused for thinking that 
the public had forgotten about the role of these two party stalwarts 
 in 1984 because they had both repeatedly contested and won 
parliamentary elections on the Congress ticket.  Tytler had even 
served in Manmohan Singh's cabinet (until 2005 when he was forced to 
resign after the Nanavati Commission found "credible evidence" that 
Tytler had a hand in organizing attacks against Sikhs in 1984 -- ref 
E).  These strategists failed, however, to grasp the Sikh 
community's pain and anguish from the 1984 riots, the role of Tytler 
and Kumar, and the responsibility of the Congress Party.  While the 
latest act in the 25-year old Tytler-Kumar saga has stung the 
Congress Party and forced it to do damage control ahead of the 
coming election, it is still not clear whether the party understands 
the full gravity of how the ghost of the 1984 riots will continue to 
haunt the party. End Comment. 
 
BURLEIGH