Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 10: The union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday slammed the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his comments in the United States on Sikhs and the criticism of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) while emphasising that his party’s battle against the BJP was more ideological than political.
In a lengthy attack, Mr Puri accused Mr Gandhi of spreading a “dangerous narrative” among diaspora in the US, and for criticising the government while abroad and holding the Leader of the Opposition post.
“He said members of the Sikh community have difficulty in wearing a turban or kada… where is he getting this information from? I have worn a turban for over 60 years… wore a kada for even longer… and never come across anyone who expressed any sense of anxiety,” he said.
Addressing the members of the Indian diaspora in Virginia, Gandhi had said the fight in India was about whether a person, as a Sikh, was going to be allowed to wear a turban in India and would be able to visit a Gurdwara. While interacting with a member of the Indian community, Gandhi further asked his name and then said the fight was about whether he would be allowed to wear a turban or kada in India.
Mr Gandhi had stressed that the fight between the BJP and the opposition, much of which had banded together under the INDIA umbrella to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party in the Lok Sabha poll, was “ideological.” He had also stressed this fight is “for all religions” and attacked the RSS and the BJP, saying neither understands that India was for all people.
Using a plate of food, a thali, as an example, Mr Gandhi had said, “In India everything works together…if someone says rice is more important than dal (in a thali) and vegetable are the least important, what will happen? That is what BJP does,” he said. Mr Gandhi also said something had “changed” after the election, in which the INDIA bloc stopped the BJP from an outright majority and left it relying on the NDA to form the government.
“First of all, you have to understand what the fight is about. The 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.”
Slamming Mr Gandhi, BJP leader RP Singh said he was exploring ways to file a case against him for making the controversial statement. “I will file a case against him. I will drag him to court,” Singh said. Recalling the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, he said “Three thousand Sikhs were massacred in Delhi, their turbans were taken off, their hair was chopped off and beard was shaved…He (Rahul Gandhi) doesn’t say that this happened when they (Congress) were in power…I challenge Rahul Gandhi to repeat in India what he is saying about Sikhs,” he added.
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots erupted following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards. Thousands of Sikhs were killed, with Delhi being the most affected, followed by Kanpur.
Gandhi embarked on his first three-day visit to the US as a leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha on Sunday. Attending several seminars and community-based meetings, the Congress leader raised several issues related to India including unemployment and the ideological influence of the RSS in the country.
BJP was quick to respond to Rahul for his comments on RSS and unemployment, with agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan saying he was the leader of the opposition and accountable to the country, but “he has been going abroad and spoiling the image of the country, which is a crime akin to treason.”
Mr Puri referring to the 1984 riots said, “Yes… at that point some of my brothers, fearing for their lives, may have shed a turban, temporarily or permanently, but never since. I think whichever way you look at it (Mr Gandhi’s comment), it is highly regrettable. It is totally unlikely any Sikh, and that includes a distinguished leader who was Prime Minister for 10 years (referring to the Congress’ Dr Manmohan Singh), would have expressed this…”
Earlier the Union Minister had spoken darkly of “something far more sinister.” “The people in front of him (at the event in the US where Mr Gandhi was speaking) were from my community. They eke out a living in the US, and don’t have a strong connection with the country. And to them Rahulji is spreading this false narrative…” Mr Puri had said.
“And what has happened (during Mr Gandhi’s US tour)… he has attacked the legal system in India, he has attacked the outcome of the election, that the Congress’ accounts were frozen…” Mr Puri said, complaining also that Mr Gandhi neglected to mention India’s development over the past decade.
Stepping up the offensive against the Congress leader, Mr Puri asserted that his language matches the tone of Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is wanted in India on terror charges. “Rahul’s language is quite similar to the fugitive from our law who lives in New York, Pannun….is he meeting him?”
Mr Puri’s sharp attack came hours after another BJP leader, National Secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa also tore into Rahul Gandhi on the comment about Sikhs’ freedom of practice.
Mr Sirsa accused Mr Gandhi of using “hateful words” against Sikhs and said, “Your dirty politics is diving the country. You have stooped so low that you allege Sikhs in India cannot wear turbans and kada… you say Sikhs and gurdwaras are not safe in India. I condemn his words.”