Protest outside Sonia Gandhi’s house over Rahul Gandhi’s Sikh remarks
BJP-backed Sikh groups are taking out a protest march to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s residence in Delhi, objecting to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in the US on religious freedom enjoyed by the community in the country. Arguing that they are safer under the BJP government than during Congress rule, they are demanding that Mr Gandhi apologise for his remarks.
During his three-day visit to the US, Mr Gandhi had said the fight in India was not about politics.
Asking a Sikh member of the audience for his name, Mr Gandhi had said: “The fight is about whether he, as a Sikh, will be allowed to wear a turban in India; or whether he, as a Sikh, will be allowed to wear a kara in India; or whether he, as a Sikh, will be allowed to go to a gurdwara. That is the fight, and not just for him, but for all religions”.
The remarks have sparked an outcry in the country with the BJP accusing him of habitually making anti-national remarks abroad, which is particularly serious given his current position as the leader of the opposition. Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri has called Mr Gandhi’s comments “appalling” and accused him of spreading a “dangerous narrative” abroad.
“If ever a period in our history has evoked feelings of anxiety, insecurity, and existential threat within our community, it has been during the tenure of Rahul Gandhi’s family in positions of power.” the minister said, referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Though Mr Gandhi’s comments are in line with the Congress’ secular credentials and its stance on religious freedom, its timing is odd in light of the anti-India narrative spread by a section of the diaspora Sikhs.
