The Congress leader has claimed that he was innocent and had organised camps to protect Sikh residents of his constituency during the 1984 riots.

A day after a Delhi court re-opened investigations into allegations that he was involved in anti-Sikh riots in 1984, Congress leader Jagdish Tytler today defended himself and said he had worked to ensure the safety of Sikh residents of his constituency Delhi Sadar and there was no substance to the allegations against him.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with CNN-IBNeditor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai, the Congress leader said he wouldn't contest elections until his name was cleared by the court.

"I would not even dream of taking part in elections for any body until my name is cleared. There is nothing against me as yet," Tytler said.

The former Congress MP also said that he had organised camps for Sikh residents in his constituency during the riots.

"I served the Sikh community in my constituency and I am proud of that fact...Here is a man who organised camps for Sikhs and was voted to power four times by his constituency," Tytler said, adding that he would let the courts decide if he was guilty or not.

Tytler said he had resigned from all elected posts taking "moral responsibility" for the riots and it was of no consequence to him that his political career had been damaged by the allegations.

"What happened was shameful and should never happen again," the Congress leader said.

He also sought to discredit the statements made by witnesses on the basis of which the court asked the CBI to re-open the investigations against him and alleged one of the witnesses and his wife had different reasons for making statements against him and that the truth against them would be revealed.

"Where were the witnesses between 1984 and 2002?" Tytler questioned.

The Congress leader claimed witness Surinder Singh was forced to give a statement against him and pointed out he had changed his statements five times.

"My name comes back on the basis of the statement made by Surinder Singh and Jasbir Singh. Surinder Singh first gave a statement in English and then gave a written statement in Gurumukhi. I want to know that why (lawyer HS Phoolka) Phoolka forced Surinder Singh to write a statement," Tytler said.

He also said another witness, Jasbir Singh had been declared an absconder under law and that the witness had been in Jodhpur at the time of the incident.

Tytler claimed that he was viewing Indira Gandhi's body when he was accused of leading anti-Sikh riots and said that he and other MPs had rushed to their constituencies after being berated by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.