Bharatiya Janata Party member of Rajya Sahba Surinder Singh Ahluwalia on Thursday welcomed the centre's decision to release a Rs 700 crore ex-gratia package to the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that followed the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi [Images].

"While I welcome the move, I think the Congress should apologise to the Sikh community. The government must move a Bill in both the houses of Parliament and apologise to the brave Sikh community," he told rediff.com in Mumbai on the sidelines of the party's national executive convention.

He also said the government must ensure that justice is done and ensure that no effort is made to protect the likes of Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler, whose names have figured for their alleged role in the riots.

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