Tuesday, August 9 2005 16:43 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Key United Progressive Alliance (UPA) allies, Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) and Communist Party of India (CPI), today (August 9, 2005) asked the Government to launch prosecution against those whose culpability has been indicated by the Nanavati Commission on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

"The CPI (M) demands that the Government act on the specific recommendations made by the Commission to proceed against certain persons named and to probe the involvement of others whose culpability has been indicated by the Commission," the party Polit Bureau said in a statement.

In another statement, the CPI Central Secretariat also demanded that wherever and against whomsoever the Commission speaks of 'credible evidence', prosecution should be launched. Both parties, however, did not name anyone.

Observing that the Action Taken Report (ATR) of the Government was in all respects unsatisfactory and does not even treat the limited recommendations seriously, the CPI (M) said the one-man panel has also failed to do justice to the terms of reference assigned to it.

The Commission has failed to fix responsibility for the failure to check the violence and pinpoint responsibility for the serious crimes, it said, adding that, "After 21 years and nine commissions and enquiry committees, it is a dismal state of affairs that justice cannot be rendered to the thousands who suffered in the pogroms."

Describing the report as 'thoroughly disappointing,' the CPI said it did not, in any way, assure justice to the victims of the 1984 riots. "Though the Commission's report is self- contradictory in its conclusions, it does name and speak about the involvement of several Congress leaders in the events."

The CPI also said, "The panel had indicted the role of several police officers, thereby exposing the partisan and communal tendencies that have got ingrained in a section of our police force."

Maintaining that it was not enough to say that these officers have now retired, it said, "Retirement does not absolve any person from the crime of dereliction of duty."

"The Government," the CPI said, "Should draw proper lessons and initiate the process for revamping the police force so that its credibility is restored."