India
‘Foreign country used to defame…’: Sikh groups protest outside Sonia Gandhi’s US residence over Rahul’s remarks, demand apology | India News – Times of India
NEW DELHI: Sikh leaders from the BJP’s Sikh cell in Delhi on Wednesday protested against opposition leader and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after his remarks about the Sikh community in the US triggered a political furore in India.
The protesters gathered at Rahul’s residence at 10 Janpath. They chanted slogans and carried banners as they tried to march from Vigyan Bhawan. However, the police intervened and stopped them before they could reach the residence.
Several Sikh leaders, women and BJP members participated in the protest. Many of them were arrested by the police.
BJP leader RP Singh, who was among those arrested, demanded an apology from Rahul for his remarks abroad. “Rahul Gandhi should apologise. He used foreign soil to smear India and made a statement suggesting that Sikhs should not wear turbans or visit gurdwaras,” Singh told ANI.
The protesters accused Rahul of “humiliating” the Sikh community and held the Congress party “responsible” for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
At a recent gathering of Indian Americans in Washington, DC, Rahul Gandhi criticized the RSS for promoting a divisive agenda that considers certain religions, languages and communities as “inferior” to others.
In a moment that has since been widely criticized, Rahul turned to a Sikh attendee at the event and asked, “What is your name, brother with the turban?” He continued, “The fight is about whether a Sikh can wear his turban in India, or a kada. Whether he can go to a gurdwara as a Sikh. That is what the fight is about. And not just for him, but for all religions.”
The BJP has since condemned the remarks, accusing Gandhi of creating a “dangerous narrative” by raising sensitive issues on an international platform and undermining India’s unity.
The protesters gathered at Rahul’s residence at 10 Janpath. They chanted slogans and carried banners as they tried to march from Vigyan Bhawan. However, the police intervened and stopped them before they could reach the residence.
Several Sikh leaders, women and BJP members participated in the protest. Many of them were arrested by the police.
BJP leader RP Singh, who was among those arrested, demanded an apology from Rahul for his remarks abroad. “Rahul Gandhi should apologise. He used foreign soil to smear India and made a statement suggesting that Sikhs should not wear turbans or visit gurdwaras,” Singh told ANI.
The protesters accused Rahul of “humiliating” the Sikh community and held the Congress party “responsible” for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
At a recent gathering of Indian Americans in Washington, DC, Rahul Gandhi criticized the RSS for promoting a divisive agenda that considers certain religions, languages and communities as “inferior” to others.
In a moment that has since been widely criticized, Rahul turned to a Sikh attendee at the event and asked, “What is your name, brother with the turban?” He continued, “The fight is about whether a Sikh can wear his turban in India, or a kada. Whether he can go to a gurdwara as a Sikh. That is what the fight is about. And not just for him, but for all religions.”
The BJP has since condemned the remarks, accusing Gandhi of creating a “dangerous narrative” by raising sensitive issues on an international platform and undermining India’s unity.
