• Millions of NRIs are upset for candidatures of Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, who were facing allegations of involvement in the anti-Sikh riots.
• The Congress High Command allocated party tickets to Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar- The decision has hurt the sentiments of Sikh community...............NRI Surinder Mehta, Toronto, Canada

Tytler, Sajjan not to contest LS polls: Congress

Tytler said:

• A lot of damage has been done to me and my family
• I will not pursue my candidature for this election. I have left it to Congress president to decide. I don't want to embarrass the party
• I am trying to meet Sonia Gandhi and said it was my moral responsibility not to embarrass my party.
  
  

New Delhi, April 09, 2009
.ddinews.gov.in

The Congress has dropped Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar as party candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, in the wake of widespread protests by Sikh organisations against their alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

A decision to this effect was taken by Congress President Sonia Gandhi by taking into consideration the ''sensibilities of the people.''

The replacement for Mr Tytler and Mr Kumar, who were nominated from North East Delhi, and South Delhi respectively for the May seven election, will be announced shortly, AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi told mediapersons.

Tytler pulls out of LS race

Addressing a press conference in the back drop of the controversy and protests by the sikhs over the CBI giving a clean chit to him in the 1984 riots case, Jagdish Tytler announced his decision to pull out of the Lok Sabha elections saying he does not want to cause embarrassment.

"My heart says a lot of embarrassment has been caused to the party. I don't think I should fight," he told a press conference in New Delhi amidst speculation that the party would keep him out of the fray.

He said he has left the decision to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to decide whether he should contest in view of the "vicious campaign" launched by BJP and Akali Dal and the "atmosphere" created by the media.

65-year-old Tytler, who had won thrice from the capital, was announced as party's candidate from the newly-created North-East Delhi seat.

His candidature became a subject of renewed controversy in the wake of a Sikh journalist lobbing a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday protesting against the clean chit to him given by the CBI.

Tytler case put off till 28th April

Earlier in the day, a local Delhi court which was scheduled to hear CBI plea of closing the case against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case has postponed the hearing till 28th of April.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rakesh Pandit said the matter will be heard on 28th and 29th April after the CBI submitted that his court has no jurisdiction because the offence made out in the case was that of murder which was in the exclusive jurisdiction of a sessions court.

Sikh protest outside court

Over 100 protestors from various Sikh organizations held a demonstration outside the court.

The protestors belonged to All India Sikh Students Federation, Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), Khalsa Regiment were raising slogans outside the Karkardooma court complex against CBI for giving clean chit to Tytler.

Flashing placards and demanding non-closure of cases from the Court, the protestors were demanding stringent punishment for Tytler for his alleged role in instigating the riots pertaining to killing of three persons when a mob attacked Gurudwara Pulbangash on 1st November, 1984.

The CBI had on 2nd April pleaded before the court to close the case against Tytler, saying that there was no evidence against the former minister.

The case against the Congress leader relates to an incident on 1st November, 1984, when a mob had set afire Gurudwara Pulbangash killing three persons in the riots that had broken out after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Earlier also, the probe agency had on 29th September, 2007, sought to close the case against Tytler.

But the court had on 19th December, 2007, asked it to file the investigation report after Jasbir Singh, a witness, surfaced and expressed his willingness to depose against the Congress leader.(AKS-09/04)

• On December 18 2007, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Delhi court Sanjeev Jain, who had earlier dismissed the case after CBI submitted a misleading report in his court; ordered India's Central Bureau of Investigation to reopen cases relating to 1984 Anti-Sikh riots against Jagdish Tytler.
• In December 2007, NRI, a witness Jasbir Singh, who is lives in California, appeared on several private television news and stated that he was never contacted by Central Bureau of Investigation.
  
• In November 2007, The CBI closed all cases against Jagdish Tytler for his alleged criminal conspiracy to engineer riots against Sikhs
• On August 10, 2005, he resigned from the Union Council of Ministers.
• Remember that the Nanavati Commission found some 'credible evidence' against Tytler, saying he 'very probably' had a hand in organising the attacks.