NEW DELHI: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, during his recent visit to the United States, faced pointed questions from a Sikh student regarding his party’s historical relationship with the Sikh community, particularly concerning the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. While the exchange occurred on April 21, the video only emerged on May 3.
The student questioned Rahul Gandhi’s recent statements suggesting that Sikhs might face restrictions on wearing religious symbols like the kara and turban under the current BJP government. The student highlighted what he saw as a contradiction in Gandhi’s stance on fearless politics, given the Congress party’s own complicated history with Sikh rights.
“You talked about how politics should be fearless. There should be nothing to be afraid of, right? But we don’t just want to wear karas. We don’t just want to tie our turbans. We want freedom of expression, which under the Congress party in the past has not been allowed,” the student asserted.
The student further referred to the sentencing of former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, saying the party had failed to reconcile with the Sikh community after the 1984 violence. A Delhi court sentenced Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment on February 25 for leading a mob that killed two Sikhs in Delhi’s Saraswati Vihar during the 1984 riots.
Gandhi responded by acknowledging his party’s past mistakes, though noting they occurred before his time in politics.
“A lot of those mistakes happened when I was not there. But I’m more than happy to take responsibility for everything that the Congress party has ever done wrong in its history,” he stated. He also spoke about his personal connection with the Sikh community, mentioning his visits to the Golden Temple and publicly condemning the events of the 1980s.
“I have publicly stated that what happened in the 80s was wrong. I have been to the Golden Temple multiple times. I have an extremely good relationship with the Sikh community in India and a loving relationship with them,” the former Congress president said.
‘Ridiculed not just in India, but around the world’: BJP
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya shared a snippet of the video and said it was telling that Gandhi was being “ridiculed not just in India, but around the world.” He added that the student had directly reminded Gandhi of the “unfounded fear-mongering” he had done about Sikh identity under BJP rule.
“You haven’t reconciled with the Sikhs,” a young man tells Rahul Gandhi to his face, reminding him of the unfounded fear-mongering he engaged in during his last visit to the US. It is quite unprecedented that Rahul Gandhi is now being ridiculed not just in India, but around the world,” he wrote.
What happened in 1984?
Operation Blue Star was launched in June 1984. Ordered by the government, it aimed to flush out armed Sikh militants led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation resulted in heavy casualties and significant damage to the gurdwara.
Bhindranwale was killed during the assault. In a retaliatory act, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards, sparking widespread anti-Sikh riots that killed thousands.
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