Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's comments on the Sikh community and their religious freedom in the US have triggered BJP leaders, who said the Congress "massacred the Sikhs", referring to the 1984 riots.
Rahul, during an event in Virginia's Herndon on Monday, said the fight in India was about whether a Sikh can wear a turban and kada or go to Gurudwara'.
I want Sikhs to be allowed to wear turban, kada and pray in Gurudwara. - Rahul Gandhi
— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) September 10, 2024
Which Sikh has ever been stopped from wearing a turban or visiting a Gurudwara?
What a dangerous and disgusting man he is. He's not only trying to send a message to the world that Sikhs are… pic.twitter.com/usdGSFC5vt
Addressing an audience member from the Sikh community, Rahul said: You have to understand what the fight is about. This fight is not about politics. It is superficial. What is your name? The fight is about whether he as a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India. Or, he as a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear a kada in India. Or, a Sikh is going to be able to go to Gurdwara. That’s what the fight is about and not just for him, for all religions," he said.
The comments irked BJP leaders in India, who lashed out at Rahul, stating that the"BJP will have to go below the belt" to answer Rahul's accusations.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh slammed Rahul and Congress, accusing it of massacring the Sikhs. "The Congress, who post-independence has been doing appeasement politics, massacred the Sikhs. Now, they are trying to teach us," Singh said.
BJP leader R P Singh too threatened legal action against Rahul and challenged him to repeat what he said about Sikhs in Virginia in India. He said over 3,000 Sikhs were massacred in Delhi when Congress was in power. "3000 Sikhs were massacred in Delhi; their turbans taken off, their hair chopped off and beard shaved. Rahul Gandhi doesn’t say that this happened when the Congress was in power. I challenge Rahul Gandhi to repeat in India what he is saying about Sikhs, and then I will file a case against him and will drag him to court," RP Singh said.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan too slammed Rahul Gandhi for his comment. Accusing Rahul of maligning the country for his remarks on the Prime Minister and India, Chouhan said: I want to remind Rahul Gandhi that when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the LoP, in a foreign land, he never tried to malign the image of the country," he said, accusing Rahul of committing "treason".
"Who attacked the Constitution? Who imposed the emergency? He goes on a Bharat Jodo Yatra but he is unable to unite neither with India nor with the people of India,” Chouhan added.
