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The article penned by Kapil Komireddi further reflected on a troubling historical pattern within the Gandhi family, pointing out that Rahul’s grandmother, Indira Gandhi, and uncle had backed controversial figures in Punjab, while his father, Rajiv Gandhi, was associated with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
“His father presided over a pogrom of Sikhs in Delhi. And now Rahul Gandhi has micturated on the sacrifices of two generations of Sikhs who stood by their country against murderous separatists and a homicidal state run by his father. As Rahul Gandhi was prating glibly in an auditorium in Washington, DC, tens of thousands of Sikhs in uniform were patrolling the borders of India. What were they defending? A country in which they are about to become extinct?”, the article stated.
The author questioned Gandhi’s motivations, suggesting two possible reasons for his comments – either he was trying to atone for the sins of his grandmother and father or he was just a “fool”.
He went on to make suggestions for how Rahul Gandhi could atone for his family’s draining Sikh blood – by serving langar in a Gurudwara, discarding his family’s tainted name or just disappearing from public life.
“The second reason why Rahul Gandhi did what he did is perhaps closer to the truth: he is a fool.”, Kapil Komireddi said in his article.
He also said that no politician in India is more self-aware than Rahul Gandhi adding that he is misguided and vulnerable to the influence of sycophants. “Do the debased minions and lickspittles and trolls who cheer them on, defend them, and abuse their critics-do they feel shame?”, he lambasted.
He then contrasted Gandhi’s approach with that of Shashi Tharoor, another Congress MP who was also in the U.S. at the time. Tharoor’s speeches were noted for their intellectual rigor and defense of democracy, setting him apart from Gandhi. Despite some talk of a resurgence in Gandhi’s popularity, the diplomat highlighted that the Congress leader had led his party to three consecutive electoral defeats, questioning his fitness for public office.
H underscored deep concerns about Rahul Gandhi’s leadership and the potential damage his words could cause to India’s political and social unity and said that Rahul Gandhi and his family are a plague on India.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, on a three-day US visit, has criticised the RSS in Virginia and accused the outfit of not understanding India. Rahul Gandhi will be in Washington for two days before heading back to Delhi. He called the Indian diaspora in the US a ‘vital bridge’ between two nations.
While talking to students at the prestigious Georgetown University, Rahul Gandhi said, “What the RSS says is that certain states are inferior to other states. Certain languages are inferior to other languages, certain religions are inferior to other religions, and certain communities are inferior to other communities…All the state has its history, tradition…RSS ideology is Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, Manipuri, these are inferior languages…that’s what the fight is about…These people (RSS) don’t understand India…”
The fight (in India) is about whether a Sikh, is going to be allowed to wear a turban in India…whether a Sikh will be allowed to wear a kada in India or will be able to go to the Gurudwara…that’s what the fight is about, and it is not just for Sikh, it is for all the religion..,” he added.
The Leader of the Opposition also criticised the BJP and said, “…BJP don’t understand that this country is of everyone…India is a union. In the Constitution, it is written clearly… India that is Bharat is a union state, history, tradition music and dance…they (BJP) say it is not a union, it is different…”
“We will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place. And India is not a fair place,” Gandhi told students at the university here in response to a question on reservation and how long it would continue. “That’s the problem. Now, it (reservation) is not the only tool. There are other tools,” he said. Rahul Gandhi also said members of the INDIA coalition had differences but agreed on a lot of things. “We agree that the Constitution of India should be defended. Most of us agree on the idea of the caste census.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Monday hit back at the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) stating, “A traitor cannot understand the RSS.”
Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s criticism, BJP leader Singh said, “If there is any technology to go to his grandmother and ask her about the role of RSS, then go and ask or look in the pages of history. To know about RSS, Rahul Gandhi will have to take many births. A traitor cannot know RSS and those who go abroad and criticise the country cannot grasp its essence.”
“It seems Rahul Gandhi travels abroad only to defame India. He will never be able to comprehend the RSS in this lifetime, as it is rooted in the values and culture of India,” Singh further said.
The Union Minister further slammed the Congress leader for praising China and said that it seems like he is thriving on China’s money, and they are going abroad and branding China. “The people of the country rejected Congress for the third time under the leadership of ‘Yuvraj’ Rahul Gandhi. India, which used to import defense, in the form of ‘Make in India’ is now exporting it. India, which used to import Rs 19 lakh crores, has reached Rs 80 lakh crores today.
Instead of praising India, he is going abroad and abusing India and praising China, praising the enemy country. It seems like he is thriving on China’s money, and they are going abroad and branding China. If PM Modi did not protect the Constitution, cases of treason should be registered against such people who go outside India and criticise India,” Singh added.
What Congress has achieved with Rahul Gandhi’s US visit is hard to guess but one thing is for sure: The visit has exposed the ecosystem’s carefully created ‘aura’ around the Gandhi scion.
It has only reaffirmed that the Rae Bareli MP is, after all, a Pappu, a popular moniker attached to him after his embarrassing public gaffes and faux pas.
Rahul Gandhi stirred a political controversy with his comments on religious freedom in India, specifically addressing the Sikh community, during an event in Herndon, Virginia.
“First, it’s important to understand what the real issue is. The fight isn’t about politics; that’s just on the surface. What’s your name? The fight is about whether he, as a Sikh, will be allowed to wear his turban in India, or whether he’ll be permitted to wear a kada, or even attend the Gurdwara. That’s what this struggle is about, and it extends beyond him to all religions,” Mr Gandhi said in his usual rambling way.
Mr Gandhi aimed to defame India and project a negative image of the Modi government in the United States-by referring to the religious freedom in India, where random mosques and dargahs come up on encroached lands, where Islamic marauders, who pulled down temples of Hindus and Jains to raise mosques over them, are hailed as ‘economic reformists’-to claim the country is opposed to diversity is an insult to the age-old pluralism and interfaith tolerance that forms the core of the Vedic faiths.
But to use Sikhs as a tool to further his propaganda against the BJP is tragic, given that the only time Sikhs had to live under a constant threat of fear and persecution was when the Congress party was at the Centre in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Several Congress leaders at the time, including Jagdish Tytler, have been charged with leading mobs that attacked Sikhs during the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom.
The 1984 Anti-Sikh riots took place in the aftermath of the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31st October 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards as revenge for Operation Blue Star. From 1st November to 4th November, Sikhs across the country were killed. The government figures suggest the angry mobs, many of which were led by Congress leaders, brutally murdered 3,350 Sikhs.
Sikhs across the country, particularly in north India, went into hiding, with many men shaving off their heads, which is proscribed as per Sikhism. Yet, to save themselves from bloodthirsty mobs of rioters, several Sikh men had to give up their faith, remove their turbans, and shave their heads to avoid being identified as Sikhs.
Sajjan Kumar was one of the many Congress leaders accused of involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre. Even after grave allegations against him, Congress rewarded him with a ticket to contest elections in 1991, which he subsequently won. He also won the 2004 general elections on the Congress ticket from the Outer Delhi seat with the highest-ever votes at 8,55,543 votes. A Sanjay Gandhi loyalist, he served as a Member of the Committee on Urban Development and Committee on Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme in 2005.
The ex-Congress MP was charged with the murder of a man and his son in west Delhi’s Saraswati Vihar. On November 1, 1984, a thousand-strong mob allegedly burned alive a father and son duo (Jaswant Singh and Tarun Deep Singh) in Raj Nagar, West Delhi. The prosecution had stated that the crowd burned alive the two men, as well as damaged, destroyed, looted, arson and inflicted severe injuries on their family members and relations, on Kumar’s incitement and abetment. While framing the charges, the court said sufficient evidence was on record to form a prima facie opinion that Sajjan Kumar was not only “a participant of the riotous mob but had also led it”.
Sajjan Kumar was not the only loyalist of the Nehru-Gandhi family and Congress who was accused of leading the mob and running a riot. Another such leader was Jagdish Tytler, who continues to hold sway in the Congress party. The Nanavati Commission recorded the testimony of a witness namely, Jasbir Singh, who stated that on 3rd November 1984, he was passing by the TB hospital gate after taking dinner at the house of one Sucha Singh situated at Outram lane when he had seen Jagdish Tytler coming there in a car.
Singh furthered that he heard Tytler “rebuked” the standing persons because his instructions were not faithfully carried out. Therefore his position was greatly compromised and lowered in the eyes of the central leaders. He has alleged to have further stated that there was only nominal killing in his constituency compared to East Delhi, Outer Delhi, and Cant. etc. and it would be difficult for him to stake a claim in future as he has promised large-scale killing of Sikhs. He had complained to those persons that they had betrayed and let him down.
Despite the damning testimony against Tytler, the Congress party did not take punitive action against him. He remained a mainstay of the party’s Delhi unit, often attending meetings and weighing in on his opinions on matters of import.
Jagdish Tytler was subsequently given tickets to contest the election by the Indian National Congress and also made Union Minister of Civil Aviation first and then the Labour Department. He had contested the 2004 elections and won as well. He was dropped in the 2009 polls.
In December 2022, Tytler was seen attending the Congress Delhi Unit’s meeting over the preparations for the Bharat Jodo Yatra. He was also seen campaigning for the Congress party during the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections.
The Congress leaders were accused of orchestrating the anti-Sikh pogrom that resulted in the deaths of over 3,000 Sikhs. The party has not shown remorse for its involvement, as it even rewarded the leaders accused of serious charges. This was a time when Sikhs had to hide their identity and go against the principles of Sikhism to stay safe from violent mobs led by Congress leaders. Before Mr Gandhi involved Sikhs in his propaganda campaign, he should have been aware of the Congress party’s history of violence against Sikhs. Under the Modi government, India remains a haven for Sikhs and other law-abiding minorities, as evidenced by the steady rise in their respective populations.
