New Delhi: A journalist of Dainik Jagran threw a shoe at Union Home Minister P Chidambaram during a press conference at the Congress headquarters here on Tuesday. Jarnail Singh, an accredited correspondent, asked Chidambaram to explain the clean chit given to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 Sikh riots by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Chidambaram refused to answer and said that he did not want to make any political statement at a platform not meant for it. A journalist of nearly 20 years standing, Jarnail Singh, then threw his shoes at Chidambaram. Security swung into action immediately and took Jarnail Singh into custody soon after the incident. Later, talking to NDTV over phone, Jarnail Singh said: “ My method (of throwing a shoe) could be wrong, but not my cause. There is no question of apologising for what I did.” The journalist was perturbed to notice no action being taken by the government even after the Sikh riot victims had been waiting for justice for 25 years. In a similar incident, last December, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist with Egypt-based al-Baghdadia television network, had thrown shoes at President Bush during a news conference in Baghdad, where Bush was making a farewell visit.

    The Home Ministry said later Chidambaram did not avoid journalist's query New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry on Tuesday refuted media reports of Home Minister P. Chidambaram refusing to answer a question put to him by journalist Jarnail Singh on the "clean chit" given to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in connection with the 1984 Sikh riots case. According to a Home Ministry statement, the videotape is there and the Minister answered the question. "The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) does not come under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Neither the Ministry of Home Affairs nor any other Ministry put of pressure on the CBI. The CBI has only given a report to the Court. It is for the Court to accept the report or reject the report or order the CBI to do further investigation. Let us wait for the Court to take a decision on the report," Chidambaram is reported to have said. Earlier, it was reported that Chidambaram had refused to answer and said that he did not want to make any political statement at a platform not meant for it. Jarnail Singh, an accredited correspondent, then flung his shoes in Chidambaram''s direction. Later, Singh told NDTV: " My method (of throwing a shoe) could be wrong, but not my cause. There is no question of apologising for what I did." The journalist was perturbed over no action being taken by the government to alleviate the miseries of Sikh riot victims, who had been waiting for 25 years for justice. In a similar incident, last December, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist with Egypt-based al-Baghdadia television network, had thrown shoes at former President George W. Bush during a news conference in Baghdad.
- Apr 7, 2009