Jarnail Singh, the journalist - sacked

Shoe-throw sack after 3 months

New Delhi : Jarnail Singh, the journalist who lobbed a shoe at home minister P. Chidambaram in frustration at inaction against the 1984 anti-Sikh rioters, has been sacked by his newspaper nearly three months later.

In a notice sent to the journalist, the management of Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagaran described his conduct at the April 7 news conference as “an act unimaginable on the part of a journalist and subversive of basic rule of discipline”.

Jarnail, a special correspondent who covered military affairs and states including Punjab, was shocked that the newspaper should react in such a manner so long after the incident. He had lobbed his sneaker in the direction of the home minister but did not mean to harm him.

“As a journalist, I regret what I have done. It was not proper for a journalist to act in that manner. I was emotionally overtaken and exasperated, just like so many Sikhs are,” he said today.

“But I thought the chapter was closed because of the way the home minister had reacted and had accepted that not enough people (who were behind the killing of Sikhs in 1984) had been punished,” Jarnail said.

After the incident, the management of the newspaper had advised him “to take rest at home”, he said. That was followed up with two show-cause notices.

At the April 7 news conference, Jarnail had asked Chidambaram about the CBI “clean chit” to Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 riots case. He felt the home minister had ducked the question.

“Now I feel that I am being victimised, punished for raising my voice against the injustice of 1984 and the CBI’s and the government’s unwillingness to prosecute those who were responsible for it”, Jarnail said. He said he was even more resolute now.

Sikh political parties had offered Jarnail tickets to contest the Lok Sabha elections but he had refused.

Following Jarnail’s outburst at the April 7 news conference, the Congress high command reconsidered its decision to nominate Tytler and Sajjan as candidates for the general election. Neither was eventually fielded.

with thanks : source : http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090703/jsp/frontpage/story_11190977.jsp

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