Amritsar, Feb 20 (IANS): Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal Thursday accused Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi of sheltering party leaders who were behind the killing of Sikhs in Delhi in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

"Rahul Gandhi has no regret and sympathy towards victims of the Congress-sponsored 1984 Sikh genocide even after his own confession of direct involvement of Congress leaders in the Delhi massacre against Sikhs. He lacks the will to take action against his party leaders," the Shiromani Akali Dal president told reporters here, 250 km from Chandigarh.

Badal was reacting to concerns expressed by Rahul Gandhi about the Tamil Nadu government decision to release the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case following the Supreme Court judgment commuting their death sentences.

"Rahul is deeply worried over the decision of the Supreme Court to commute the death sentences to life imprisonment of the killers of his father, but he has no regret and sorrow in his heart for the 5,000 Sikhs killed by Congress perpetrators in a planned strategy. He is sheltering the killers of Sikhs," Badal said.

During an interview to a news channel, Rahul Gandhi admitted that some Congress leaders could have been involved in the 1984 riots. However, he did not name anyone.