Congress may dump Tytler to secure Sikh votes

NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: The fate of Congress leader Jagdish Tytler's nomination from Delhi North-East is hanging by a slender thread. With the
"shoe throwing" protest by journalist Jarnail Singh triggering sharp reaction among Sikhs, Congress leadership is seriously considering to dump Tytler to secure its prospects in Punjab. ( Watch )

The resentment triggered by Jarnail's action swept Punjab as dozens of Sikh groups held up trains at several places in the state on Wednesday, fuelling the Tytler issue anew.

The protests, which came as a surprise to the Akali government in Punjab, sensitised the Congress leadership to the risk of persevering with Tytler, a former Union minister who is one of the prominent accused in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.

Congress is hopeful of improving its tally from Punjab, but fears that spotlight on Tytler may neutralise the advantage. Akalis have swiftly latched on to the controversy to remind Sikhs of the charge of official sponsorship of anti-Sikh violence in the aftermath of the assassination of former PM Indira Gandhi.

Tytler's case comes up on Thursday before Rakesh Pandit, additional chief metropolitan magistrate of New Delhi who is to take a view on the CBI report which has disputed the veracity of the testimony of one Jasbir Singh who claimed to be a witness to Tytler's involvement in the rioting against Sikhs.

Congress sources, however, said Tytler may not be in the clear even if the court accepts the report of the investigating agency. "It is a matter of perception," said a party functionary familiar with leadership's thinking.

While Tytler was defiant and sought to rubbish reports about a re-think on his ticket, the leadership sounded out the party unit in Punjab on potential repercussions for party's chances in the state. "PPCC has already discussed and apprised party president Sonia Gandhi about the implications of Tytler issue on poll prospects in the state," Punjab Congress chief Mahinder Singh Kaypee told reporters.

Kaypee was not forthcoming on detials. But he did point to reports about party leadership's decision to review the decision to field Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, another prominent Congressman accused in the riots and party's candidate for South Delhi, when pressed by journalists in Chandigarh.

The protests in Punjab involved various Sikh outfits.Rail traffic remained disrupted for over four hours with activists of Damdami Taksal and other Sikh organizations led by Sant Samaj stopping trains and squatting on the tracks between 11am to 3pm. Several trains were stopped at various stations before the start of the dharna.

At the Dakoha railway crossing in Jalandhar, the protest was led by Damdami Taksal chief Harnam Singh Dhuma and SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar.

Long-distance trains, including the Flying Express from Amritsar to Darbhanga, were cancelled and others like Amritsar-New Delhi Shatabdi and Dadar-Amritsar Express delayed. However, many trains that left the Amritsar area before the demonstrators blocked the tracks chugged along on schedule. Reports from most places said cops made no attempt to disperse the protesters.

In Haryana too, Sikh community leaders held a symbolic dharna at the railway station in Kurukshetra.