Punjab Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday welcomed the Delhi High Court verdict convicting Sajjan Kumar in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. In a statement released by his office, Singh added that the Congress party of the Gandhi family had no role to play in the rioting that took place in 1984.

The statement released by the Punjab Chief Minister’s Office said that Singh welcomed the conviction of Sajjan Kumar, terming the 1984 riots as “a case of justice finally delivered to the victims of one of the worst instances of communal violence in independent India”.

The Punjab Chief Minister, however, asserted that “neither the Congress party nor the Gandhi family had any role to play in the rioting”. He further lashed out at the Badals for “continuing to drag their (Gandhis) names into the case at the behest of their political masters – the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)”.

Punjab Congress party chief Sunil Kumar Jakhar also welcomed the Delhi High Court verdict, saying that though justice was delayed, it was “delivered finally”. He said, “Yes, justice has been delayed but delivered finally. Nobody is above law and anyone who is involved in such a heinous crime should be brought to justice.”

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), however, continued to target the Gandhi family, with senior party leader and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal suggesting the probe into the 1984 carnage would ultimately lead to the Gandhi famly.

“It is Sajjan Kumar today, it will be Jagdish Tytler tomorrow then Kamal Nath and eventually the Gandhi family. I want to thank PM Modi that on Shiromnai Akali Dal's request in 2015 he set up an SIT to probe 1984 massacre. It's a historic judgement. Wheels of justice have finally moved,” said the SAD leader.

Another Akali Dal leader, Manjinder Singh Sirja, said that their "fight" would continue till the Gandhi family was "dragged to court and put in jail".

"We thank the court for giving us justice. Our fight will continue till Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler get a death sentence and Gandhi family is dragged to the court and put in jail," said Sirja.