Rahul Gandhi's dig at Modi irks BJP

BJP's Subramanian Swamy questioned the Gandhi scion's stand, asking, "Did Rajiv Gandhi preside over the massacre of Sikhs in 1984?" "More people died in the 1984 riots," Swamy said.

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad also hit out at Rahul Gandhi saying,

"After being repeatedly asked about SIT giving Modi a clean chit, the judicial order confirming it, Rahul had no answer at all."

Calling Rahul's comments on the 1984 riots a 'command performance of evasion', Prasad said, "Rahul has nothing to offer on the Congress's role in the 1984 Sikh massacre."

Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal's Manjit Singh responded to the Congress VP's stand by stating that Sikhs need justice, not an apology. "It has been 30 years and Rahul is saying some

Congress men were probably involved. He should name them and ensure punishment," the party said.

Rahul Gandhi in his first television interview had blamed Modi for the 2002 riots. "The Gujarat riots took place, people died, Mr. Narendra Modi was in charge of Gujarat at that point," Rahul had said.

Asked about the 19874 riots, Gandhi said, "The fact of the matter is that innocent people died in 1984 and innocent people dying is a horrible thing and should not happen. The difference between Gujarat and 1984 was that the Government of Gujarat was involved in the riots."

"The difference between the 1984 riots and the riots in Gujarat was that in 1984 the Government was trying to stop the riots. In Gujarat the opposite was the case. The Government in Gujarat was actually abetting and pushing the riots further," Gandhi had said.