The Congress leader also shared a short clip of his remarks in the US that shows him referring to a Sikh man
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Amid raging protests by leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday broke his silence over the row over his Sikh remark made during his recent visit to the United States. Launching a scathing attack on the BJP, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said that he will always speak up for the values that define India.
Accusing the BJP of spreading lies about his remarks Rahul asked Sikhs whether there was anything wrong in what he had said and if India shouldn’t be a country where every Indian could practice their religion without fear.
He said the BJP was desperate to silence him because its leaders could not stand the truth.
“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?” Gandhi said in a post on X.
“As usual, the BJP is resorting to lies. They are desperate to silence me because they cannot stand the truth. But I will always speak up for the values that define India: our unity in diversity, equality, and love,” he said.
Gandhi also shared a short clip of his remarks in the US that shows him referring to a Sikh man.
His remarks came after the BJP cited a joint statement of several Sikh groups to ask him to withdraw his statement, which it alleged had created an atmosphere of fear in the country.
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa told reporters several Sikh and gurdwara management bodies had met Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai over the issue and that he asserted the sacrifices of the Sikhs had made the country strong.
Addressing a gathering of Indian-Americans in Herndon, a Virginia suburb of Washington DC, on September 10 Gandhi had said, “First of all, you have to understand what the fight is about. The fight is not about politics. That is superficial.”
Gandhi asked one of the Sikh attendees in the front rows to give his name.
“What is your name, brother with the turban?” he had asked.
“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 he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to a gurdwara. That’s what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions,” the Congress leader had said.
Following Gandhi’s remark, several BJP leaders attacked him. Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu also sparked a row after he called the Congress leader as Number 1 terrorist and biggest enemy of the country.
Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered against Bittu in the Karnataka capital city of Bengaluru.
The FIR was registered under Sections 353 (2) (making, publishing or circulating a statement or report with false information, rumours, or alarming news), 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot- if rioting be committed; if not committed) and 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The BJP has also slammed Gandhi for sharing the stage with India-baiter Ilhan Omar along with other US lawmakers in a meeting.
