"I Was Not There, But...": Rahul Gandhi On Congress' "Mistakes" In 1980s

NDTV

04-05-2025

New Delhi:
Responding to a sharp question on the Congress's role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, senior party leader Rahul Gandhi said a lot of these "mistakes" happened when "I was not there", but added that he was happy to take responsibility for "everything the Congress party has ever done wrong in its history".
Mr Gandhi was at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University in the US two weeks ago for an interaction. During a Q&A session, a Sikh man referred to Rahul Gandhi's earlier statement that "the fight in India is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear a turban, whether a Sikh will be allowed to wear a kada or go to the Gurudwara."
"You create a fear among Sikhs about what BJP would look like, you talked about how politics should be fearless, we don't just want to wear kadas, we don't just want to tie turbans, we want freedom of expression, which has not been allowed under the Congress Party in the past," the Sikh youngster told Mr Gandhi.
He said the Anandpur Sahib Resolution talks about Dalit rights and mentions nothing of separatism, but the then Congress labelled it a separatist document. "This is something your party has done, your party seems to lack the maturity to accept the mistakes it has made," he said. The Sikh man referred to former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, who has been convicted of murder linked to the 1984 riots, and said, "Many more Sajjan Kumars are sitting in Congress Party."
"You tell us to fear what the 'BJP India' would look like, but you haven't tried to reconcile with the Sikhs. What attempts are you making, because if you continue like this, BJP is also going to make its way into Punjab," he asked.
In his response, Mr Gandhi said he doesn't think anything scares the Sikhs. "The statement I made was that do we want an India where people are uncomfortable to express their religion? As far as mistakes of Congress Party are concerned, a lot of those happened when I was not there, but I am more than happy to take responsibility for everything the Congress party has ever done wrong in its history," he said. "I have publicly stated that what happened in the 80s was wrong, I have been to the Golden Temple multiple times, I have extremely good relationships with the Sikh community in India," said the Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha.
In the 1980s, the Indira Gandhi government crushed a separatist movement in Punjab led by radical preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Bhindranwale, who was holed up inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar, was killed after the Indian Army stormed the premises of the temple, one of the holiest sites for Sikhism. The Army operation, during which the Akal Takht was turned to rubble, sparked massive resentment within the community.
Months later, Indira Gandhi was gunned down by her Sikh bodyguards. The aftermath of her assassination saw widespread violence against Sikhs. Multiple Congress leaders are suspected of having fuelled this violence. According to government estimates, over 3,000 Sikhs were killed in Delhi and elsewhere.
The Congress's handling of the situation, including Rajiv Gandhi's "when a big tree falls, the ground shakes", has repeatedly come to haunt the party. The BJP has repeatedly targeted the Congress over the 1984 riots to counter its political attacks.