Thursday, August 11 2005 16:47 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (Aug 11, 2005) said in the Rajya Sabha that it was time for introspection so that "ghastly incidents" like the 1984 anti-Sikh riots never took place in the country.

Intervening in a discussion on a censure motion on the Nanavati Commission report, he said the House was discussing an issue having grave implications for the country.

He said 4,000 people had been killed in "this great national tragedy" in 1984.

This was an occasion for introspection to ensure that such ghastly incidents never took place.

Recalling the assassination of late Indira Gandhi, Singh said it was a "national tragedy" and added what happened later was "equally shameful".

"I am not standing on any false prestige. I bow my head in shame," he said.

Pointing out that there were "ebbs and tides" in the affairs of a nation, the Prime Minister said, "Though we cannot rewrite the past, we should have the ability to write a better future for all of us".

He said people should have every right to live a life of dignity.

Recalling that it was late Rajiv Gandhi who provided a new deal to Punjab by signing an accord with Longowal, which brought peace in the militancy-hit State, Singh said after the 1984 tragedy the uppermost thing Gandhi had in his mind was how to bring Punjab to the national mainstream.

He appealed to all to work steadfastly for mutual reconciliation and quoted Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi to say that the endeavour should be to wipe out every tear from every eye in the country.

Stressing that nothing should be done to weaken the self-confidence of the Sikh community, Singh said the 1984 anti-Sikh riots should be viewed from "wider perspective" that the past cannot be brought back or undone.

He said people should desist from doing anything that leads to a kind of trauma witnessed in "Delhi or in Gujarat or in any other part of the country".

He urged members not to create a situation which will give handle to forces inimical to the country's unity and integrity.

Contending that minorities should have a honourable place in the Constitution, Singh said in the framework of open society and open economy, there should be respect for all. "There have been aberrations but to err is human."

He quoted a couplet to drive home the point that all should work together to ensure that all those who suffered were rehabilitated and work steadfastly for national reconciliation.

Going into the genesis of how the Nanavati Commission was set up by the previous NDA Government, Singh, who was then Leader of House in the Rajya Sabha, rejected the charge made by then Home Minister L K Advani outside the House that he had prevented setting up of the Commission.

The Prime Minister recalled that following his protest, Advani later apologised to the House that what he had stated outside was not correct.

He said his party had no choice with regard to the Commission's terms of reference or on who was going to head it.