Latest news with #AnandpurSahibResolution
Mint
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
‘You create fear among Sikhs…': Man confronts Rahul Gandhi in US, Congress MP replies, ‘happy to take responsibility'
Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was at a student interaction at the Brown University in the US, when he was seemingly confronted by a young Sikh man, who accused the Congress leader of 'creating a fear among Sikhs'. At an interaction at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University two weeks ago, Gandhi was told, '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 young man was referring to 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'. In a video now going viral on social media, the same Sikh man can be heard talking about the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, which he says talks about Dalit rights and mentions nothing of separatism, but the then Congress still labelled it a separatist document. While referring to former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, who was convicted of murder linked to the 1984 riots, the Sikh man said, 'This is something your party has done, your party seems to lack the maturity to accept the mistakes it has made,' adding, 'Many more Sajjan Kumars are sitting in Congress Party'. Finally, the man asked Gandhi, '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.' Gandhi responded to every statement the Sikh man had put up during the Q&A session. First, Gandhi clarified his 'fight in India for Sikhs' statement by saying, 'The statement I made was that do we want an India where people are uncomfortable to express their religion?' Second, he responded to the Sikh man's comments on the grand old party's past mistakes. '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,' Rahul Gandhi 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,' he added. The Indira Gandhi government had crushed a separatist movement in Punjab, when the Indian Army had stormed the premises of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, during 'Operation Blue Star', in 1984. The leader of the separatist movement, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a radical preacher, was killed in the operation. This Army operation, inside one of the holiest sites for Sikhism, had sparked massive unrest and resentment among the community. Months later, Indira Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi's grandmother, was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. Massive and violent riots against Sikhs broke out across the country after her assassination. Several Congress leaders are accused of having fuelled the violence. According to government estimates, over 3,000 Sikhs were killed in Delhi and elsewhere. Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya, while sharing the video on his account on X, said that 'it is quite unprecedented that Rahul Gandhi is now being ridiculed not just in India, but around the world.' '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,' Malviya wrote in his post. Tuhin A Sinha, BJP's national spokesperson, also slammed the Congress leader in a post on X. 'The ignorant dynast is seen struggling for an answer. This is how RG's pack of lies will get exposed on every issue!' he wrote. First Published: 4 May 2025, 06:46 PM IST
India Today
04-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Happy to take responsibility: Rahul Gandhi's reply to Sikh man on 1984 riots
In a rare admission, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi acknowledged the Congress party's role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying he is willing to "take responsibility for everything the Congress party has ever done wrong in its history"—even for events that occurred before his political career comments came during a charged Q&A session at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University in the United States, where Rahul Gandhi was confronted by a Sikh attendee questioning the Congress party's past actions, including the labelling of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution as separatist and the political shielding of individuals accused in the riots. advertisement'You haven't tried to reconcile with the Sikhs,' the man said, pointing to figures like Sajjan Kumar and KPS Gill. 'Yet you ask us to fear what BJP's India would look like?' Rahul Gandhi responded, 'First of all, I don't think anything scares the Sikhs A lot of those mistakes happened when I was not there, but I'm more than happy to take responsibility for everything the Congress party has ever done wrong in its history.'He added, 'I have publicly stated that what happened in the 80s was wrong. I've been to the Golden Temple multiple times. I have an extremely good and loving relationship with the Sikh community.'Reacting to Rahul Gandhi's remarks on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots during his US visit, BJP's Amit Malviya posted on X, '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.'advertisementThe moment marks one of Rahul Gandhi's clearest acknowledgements of historical wrongs committed by his party, amid continuing calls for accountability and justice from India's Sikh community.
Hindustan Times
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Rahul Gandhi says ‘ready to take responsibility' for all Congress mistakes
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi acknowledged the historical wrongs committed by his party during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, asserting that while he was not present during those events, he is willing to "take responsibility for everything the Congress party has ever done wrong in its history.' The admission came during a question-and-answer session at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University in the United States two weeks ago. A Sikh student confronted Gandhi over Congress' role in the violent aftermath of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination, which led to the killing of over 3,000 Sikhs, largely in Delhi, amid accusations of complicity by several Congress leaders. 'You create a fear among Sikhs about what BJP would look like… We want freedom of expression, which has not been allowed under the Congress Party in the past,' the student said, questioning Gandhi's previous remarks on religious freedom under BJP rule. The student also referred to the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, which he claimed was mischaracterized by the Congress as a separatist manifesto. He criticized the party's failure to reconcile with the Sikh community and pointed to convicted former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar as evidence of lingering impunity, saying, 'Many more Sajjan Kumars are sitting in Congress Party.' In response, Gandhi reaffirmed his condemnation of the 1984 riots, stating: '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.' He went further, adding, 'As far as the mistakes of the 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.' The violent legacy of the 1980s remains a political flashpoint in Indian politics. The storming of the Golden Temple by the Indian Army during Operation Blue Star in 1984, in a bid to flush out separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, deeply scarred the Sikh community. The operation led to widespread resentment, culminating in the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards and the anti-Sikh pogrom that followed. BJP leaders were quick to seize upon the exchange. Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya remarked that the Sikh man 'reminded Rahul Gandhi of the unfounded fear-mongering he engaged in during his last visit to the US,' calling the incident 'unprecedented' and claiming Gandhi is now being 'ridiculed not just in India, but around the world.'
NDTV
04-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"I Was Not There, But...": Rahul Gandhi On Congress' "Mistakes" In 1980s
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.
