Rahul defends his remarks on Sikhs; BJP says 'don't use the community for your political agenda'


New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS): The Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, facing strong backlash over his recent comments on the Sikh community in the US, defended his remarks on Saturday and accused the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) of manipulating his statement for certain political motives. He also accused the ruling party of 'silencing' his voice by blatant distortion of 'truth'.

The Congress MP took to social media, shared a video clip from the September 10 address and asked: "Is there anything wrong in what I said?"

"The BJP has been spreading lies about my remarks in America. I want to ask every Sikh brother and sister in India and abroad -- is there anything wrong in what I have said? Shouldn't India be a country where every Sikh -- and every Indian -- can freely practice their religion without fear?" wrote the Congress MP on X.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to hit back at Rahul Gandhi's charges. Party spokesperson Manjinder Singh Sirsa slammed the Congress MP for first peddling false anti-Sikh rhetoric on foreign soil and then brazenly defending the 'indefensible' remark.

Sirsa, in a video message, said that the only time when the Sikhs felt threatened was during the Congress regime, led by his ancestors.

"I must tell him that there was only once in the history of Independent India, when Sikhs were forced to cut their hair, stop wearing 'kadas' and 'turbans' and conceal their identity. This happened in 1984 under the Congress regime. Many gurdwaras were locked while many others demolished, Sikhs were prohibited from visiting gurdwaras," Sirsa said.

Issuing a sharp rebuttal to his charges, Sirsa said: "Today, even Rahul Gandhi has the freedom to visit the gurdwaras. Despite Rahul's parents and grandmother's direct hand in the massacre of the Sikhs, he can visit any gurdwara without any restriction and offer prayers."

Manjinder Sirsa also warned the Congress MP against making the Sikh community a 'tool' for his political propaganda and said that he must refrain from brazenly peddling lies and fake narratives for scoring political points.

 

  

Top Stories

Comment on this article

  • Damodar Das, Kundapur

    Sat, Sep 21 2024

    Then what are you using Communal BJP?????…..Without communalism there is no BJP and your own leaders have admitted publicly that development is not important but communalism is very important.

    DisAgree [5] Agree [1] Reply Report Abuse


Leave a Comment

Title: Rahul defends his remarks on Sikhs; BJP says 'don't use the community for your political agenda'



You have 2000 characters left.

Disclaimer:

Please write your correct name and email address. Kindly do not post any personal, abusive, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful or similar comments. Daijiworld.com will not be responsible for any defamatory message posted under this article.

Please note that sending false messages to insult, defame, intimidate, mislead or deceive people or to intentionally cause public disorder is punishable under law. It is obligatory on Daijiworld to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request.

Hence, sending offensive comments using daijiworld will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Daijiworld.com be held responsible.