Chandigarh, Nov 4 — In a deeply emotional and sombre atmosphere marked by the presence of survivors and the families of 1984 massacre victims, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) commenced its day-long conclave, 'Zakhm 84 De', here on Wednesday.
The morning began on a reverent note with a solemn ‘ardas’ offered for the eternal peace of those who died and for the ongoing pursuit of justice.
Ahead of the deliberations, a special archival photographic exhibition documenting the harrowing scenes of November 1984, burning dwellings in Delhi’s Trilokpur, gutted establishments across Connaught Place, displaced families clutching remnants of their belongings, and Sikhs being pulled out of buses, was opened by former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, amid the presence of state BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon and state in-charge Satish Poonia.
The powerful black-and-white displays brought back painful memories and set a reflective, solemn tone across the gathering.
Delivering the keynote address during the opening session, senior advocate Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is the MP from Patna Sahib, Bihar, expressed deep anguish while sharing the stage with victim families. “Two deep blots stain Punjab’s soul today: '84 ke zakhm' (the wounds of 1984) and 'chitte di peeda' (the agony of drug addiction). These wounds cannot heal without uncompromised justice,” Prasad said.
Launching a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Prasad questioned the timing and intent of his political events in Punjab.
“On November 1, the Congress staged a rally in Delhi, and today they hold a political event here. Why rub salt into these raw wounds? Rajiv Gandhi's infamous statement on November 19, 1984, ‘When a big tree falls, the earth shakes’, sought to rationalise the butcher of thousands of innocent Sikhs.”
He said, “As the Information and Broadcasting Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, I ensured that the video evidence of that horrific statement, which had vanished from public archives, was restored to the public domain.”
He posed a question to Rahul Gandhi: “What is your stand on your father’s statement? Why have you or your family never tendered a sincere apology to the nation?”
Deconstructing four decades of institutional cover-ups, Prasad pointed out that the Congress motto remained “Latkana, bhatkana, jhatkaana (delay, distract, and dismiss). He referred to the setting up of commissions after commissions and said there was never an intent to secure justice within the Congress. “Even Dr Manmohan Singh’s tenure could not deliver convictions against them.”
He said Congress cared nothing about 3,500 innocent dead; they only moved heaven and earth to shield three or four key leaders. It was only when the Narendra Modi government stepped in, formed the SIT (Special Investigating Team), and Justice Dhingra’s recommendations were enforced that convictions like Sajjan Kumar’s were secured," he asserted, acknowledging the relentless courtroom courage of senior advocate H.S. Phoolka.
Addressing the gathering, state BJP chief Dhillon paid tribute to the victim families present in the hall, stating that Rajiv Gandhi's cold justification still sends shivers down the spine 42 years later.
“The community that forgets its past forgets its future. We have neither forgotten 1984 nor will we allow it to be forgotten. While Rahul Gandhi holds rallies in Sangrur hypocritically preaching 'insaaf', the people of Punjab know that justice can never come from the very hands that inflicted these wounds,” Dhillon said, adding, “The BJP will not rest until the last perpetrator is brought to book.”
Moderating the session, party national spokesperson R.P. Singh recalled the long legal battle that broke the culture of impunity, reiterating the party's unwavering pledge to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the victims until full accountability is achieved.