BJP criticises LoP Rahul Gandhi for his comments on ‘Sikhs’

New Delhi [India]September 10 (ANI): Reacting to Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks about 'Sikhs', the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday asked the Congress leader to repeat in India what he had said about the Sikhs in Virginia and said they would then file a case against the Opposition leader and drag him to court.

BJP leader RP Singh on Tuesday sharply criticized Rahul Gandhi, saying that 3,000 Sikhs were massacred in Delhi and that this happened during Congress rule.

“3,000 Sikhs were massacred in Delhi; their turbans were removed, their hair cut off and their beards shaved off… He (Rahul Gandhi) is not saying that this happened when they (Congress) were in power… I request Rahul Gandhi to repeat in India what he says about the Sikhs and then I will file charges against him and drag him to court,” said RP Singh.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reminded Rahul Gandhi of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and said that during his time as the leader of the opposition, the latter never tried to tarnish the image of the country.

“Rahul Gandhi is the LoP and the position of LoP is a responsible position. I would like to remind Rahul Gandhi that when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was LoP in a foreign country, he never tried to denigrate the image of the country…After being defeated for the third time in a row, anti-BJP, anti-RSS and anti-Modi sentiments have taken root in his mind…He is constantly trying to denigrate the image of the country. Denigrating the image of the country is tantamount to treason…Who has attacked the Constitution? Who has imposed Emergency? He is going on a Bharat Jodo Yatra but he is unable to unite with India or the people of India,” Chouhan said.

BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal reacted to Rahul Gandhi's statement and said that people involved in corruption, fraud and misuse of the country's resources are scared.

“Who is afraid? Only those involved in corruption, scams and misuse of the country's resources are afraid; they should be afraid. But there is not a single person in the country who can say that he is afraid of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi is saying this because Prime Minister Modi's popularity is rising among the people. Rahul Gandhi cannot bear this. Therefore, he is building an atmosphere of fear. This is wrong and misleading. A LoP should not make such irresponsible statements in a foreign country,” Khandelwal said.

BJP and Congress national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari fears that their lying propaganda will be exposed.

“If there is fear anywhere today, it is in the Congress party. If a woman in Congress talks about occupying a couch, she will be suspended from the party. All Congress workers are afraid today because their leadership is only protecting rapists or standing with an alliance of rape accused. Today, the Congress party is afraid that its lying propaganda will be exposed. People voted for Prime Minister Modi-led BJP in 2014 and 2019 and Modi-led NDA in 2024,” Bhandari said.

“Rahul Gandhi is a party with double digit votes which only incites people against each other. He enjoys seeing India harmed, that is why he is championing China and spreading lies about India. Today the opposition is not constructive, it can even harm India for its political gain. People are afraid of such opposition. They are worried that it (the opposition) might launch any conspiracy against the country,” he added.

Meanwhile, TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha supported Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on “unemployment” made during his visit to the US and said that BJP people always have problems with him.

“I can give my general opinion and I would like to say that whether Rahul Gandhi says something or conducts Bharat Jodo Yatra, the people of BJP always have problems with it. I am not the spokesperson of Rahul Gandhi but as a general observer I can say that whatever Rahul Gandhi has said is correct,” Sinha said.

Earlier on Monday, the opposition leader in the Lok Sabha in Virginia said the dispute was about whether Sikhs in India were allowed to wear a turban and visit a Gurdwara.

“First of all, you have to understand what this fight is about. It is not about politics. It is superficial. What is your name? It is about whether… as a Sikh he will be allowed to wear a turban in India. Or whether a Sikh will be allowed to wear a kada in India. Or whether a Sikh will be allowed to go to the Gurdwara. That is what this fight is about, and not just about him, but about all religions,” he said.

Furthermore, he continued his tirade against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, claiming that people's “fear of Prime Minister Narendra Modi” had disappeared after the announcement of the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

“After the elections, something changed. Prime Minister Modi tried to create a climate of fear. Various agencies, media and the tax department tried to spread fear, even among small and medium enterprises. But nothing worked. The fear disappeared in a second. Spreading fear took years and consumed a lot of money, but it disappeared. You can see it right in Parliament… And I can tell you that the idea of ​​Prime Minister Modi, a 142 cm chest and a direct connection to God, is all over. That is history now. He, his partners in the government and in India, the three or four senior ministers in his government, have realised that,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi, who is on a visit to the US, arrived in Dallas on Sunday. He interacted with students and faculty of the University of Texas and also spoke to members of the Indian diaspora in Dallas and Virginia. (ANI)