'I Was Not There, But...': Rahul Gandhi Responds To Sikh Man's Questions On 1984 Riots, Congress' 'Mistakes'
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi responded to a sharp question on the party's role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying a lot of these "mistakes" happened when he "was not there".
He also said that he was happy to take responsibility for "everything that Congress party has ever done wrong in its history."
The Lok Sabah Leader of Opposition made these remarks at an event at Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Brown University during his visit to the US two weeks ago.
Tough Questions To Rahul Gandhi
During a Q&A session, a Sikh man referred to an earlier statement by Gandhi where he said "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."
The Sikh man accused the Congress MP of "creating a fear among Sikhs" about what the BJP would look like, adding, "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."
He also mentioned the Anandpur Sahib Resolution saying it talks about Dalit rights but Congress labelled it as a separatist document. Referring to Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, who has been convicted of murder linked to the 1984 riots, he said, "Many more Sajjan Kumars are sitting in Congress Party."
Rahul Responds
Responding to Sikh man's questions, Rahul Gandhi said he does not think anything scares the Sikhs. He clarified that the statement he made was about freedom of 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, and I have extremely good relationships with the Sikh community in India," he added.
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