Kamal Nath's BJP switch: How the 1984 anti-Sikh riots charge dogged Congress veteran

The suspense over Congress veteran Kamal Nath's future in the grand old party continues, even as many leaders have expressed confidence that the 77-year-old leader will not switch to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Within the too, many leaders have expressed reservation over 's much-talked about entry into the party because of his alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. These leaders have been targeting Kamal Nath over his involvement in the rights, and other issues.

“Many friends are calling and asking about Kamal Nath. I have told them on the phone and here also I am saying that the doors of BJP were neither open earlier nor are they now for Kamal Nath. (He is) The murderer of Sikhs and the one who burnt the Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. I assure you all that this will never be possible with Prime Minister @narendramodi ji," Delhi BJP leader and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) secretary Tajinder Bagga posted in Hindi on X.

Kamal Nath’s presence at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj in the national capital during the rights on November 1, 1984 is an open secret, yet his role in the violence has never been fully established. 

“Kamal Nath’s presence at the site of violence was confirmed by two of the senior-most police officers, Commissioner Subhash Tandan, and Additional Commissioner Gautam Kaul, as also by an independent source," Manoj Mitta and H S Phoolka wrote in the 2007 book

The Nanavati Commission, to investigate the killing of innocent Sikhs in the , did not indict him, either.  “Nanavati Commission in its report which is also available on internet has absolved me and said that in no way I have either instigated or participated in anti-Sikh riots," Nath told a television channel in June