Rahul post sparks Bittu swipe, Cong backs LoP

Jalandhar: Leader of opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi yet again raked up his speech on Sikhs rights in India, given during his tour of the US, as he shared its video on his X handle on Sunday and asked “Sikh brothers and sisters” if he said anything wrong.
Soon after, Union minister of state Ravneet Singh Bittu once again attacked his former party’s leader on the issue, even as Punjab Congress leaders came to Rahul’s defence.“The BJP has been spreading lies about my remarks in America. I want to ask every Sikh brother and sister in India and abroad — is there anything wrong in what I have said? Shouldn’t India be a country where every Sikh — and every Indian — can freely practice (practise) their religion without fear? As usual, the BJP is resorting to lies. They are desperate to silence me because they cannot stand the truth. But I will always speak up for the values that define India: our unity in diversity, equality, and love,” Rahul posted on Sunday.
Bittu was quick to reply to Gandhi’s post, stating: “@RahulGandhi as leader of opposition, consulting Punjab colleagues and overseas Congress reps would’ve avoided your disillusioned statement on Sikhs in the US. It provides evidence of you being a disconnected soul, a leader far away from ground realities of India and embarrassing your party and country (as always) on an international forum. Can you name one Sikh leader, even from your own party, barred from entering a gurdwara sahib, wearing a turban or wearing a kada in India? Sikhs are fully integrated, respected and welcomed back as India is their motherland! Turbaned Sikhs wearing kadas have always held high posts in NDA. Provide evidence or retract! Using Sikhs for political gain is devious. India deserves truth and unity, not divisive rhetoric.”
Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Pargat Singh endorsed Rahul’s statement on their X handles and attacked BJP. “Today, hate is being spread against Sikhs through social media, films, etc., yet no action is being taken against those spreading this hatred,” said Pargat.
Khaira, apart from blaming BJP for building pressure for Operation Blue Star, posted: “Apart from the above claims BJP has in recent past maltreated Sikhs during the #FarmersProtest, robbed Sikh farmers of Kutch (Gujarat) of their lands, apart from other discriminatory acts, giving them an impression of being second rate citizens of India. So how can BJP claim to be a votary of Sikh cause?”
Punjab LoP Partap Singh Bajwa hit back at Bittu while mentioning the murder of Sikh famers in Lakhimpur Kheri and posted on X the incendiary rhetoric of several BJP leaders, coupled with unbridled vitriol of individuals like Kangana Ranaut, only exacerbated societal divisions. “Sikhs are inextricably woven into the fabric of India, and it is the BJP’s insidious attempts to malign them that truly imperil national unity,” he said.