Jaitley mocks Kamal Nath's oath-taking ceremony amid anti-Sikh riots verdict

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said it is "ironical" that Kamal Nath took oath as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on a day when the Delhi High Court sentenced Congress leader Sajjan Kumar for life in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

On Monday, the Delhi High Court convicted Sajjan Kumar and five others in an anti-Sikh riot case, holding that the violence was a "crime against humanity" engineered by politicians with assistance from police.

"It is ironical that this issue (1984 riots) has been highlighted in a big way on a day when Kamal Nath has taken an oath," Jaitley said in an interaction with CNN-News18.

A few Sikh leaders have alleged Nath too was party to the riots that broke out after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.

"There were two versions -- the victims' version and the accused's version. After 30 years such problems arise. The witnesses die or you lose them. So after this delay, the truth can't be easily proven. The Sikh community's perception is that they have seen it (Nath instigating mobs), while Kamal Nath says he was there to save people," Jaitley said.

He said the Congress party did not seem to have any regret on this. "Rahul Gandhi who tweets all the time doesn't even welcome the court's decision. No Congress leader spoke on the verdict. It proves that they don't have any regret on the matter," he said.