'I want to ask every Sikh brother ...': Rahul Gandhi reacts to row over remarks made in US

NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday defended remarks he made in the US regarding the Sikhs, and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of spreading lies.
Taking to X, the Congress leader said that BJP is desperate to silence him and cannot stand the truth.
"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 their religion without fear?" Gandhi wrote.

"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," he added.
Soon after Gandhi's social media post, BJP leader Shezad Poonawalla claimed that the Leader of Opposition (LoP) was 'brazenly' defending his remarks and justifying them.
Poonawala said, "Chori aur upar se seenazori. This is what Rahul Gandhi does. Instead of apologising for his remarks, when the entire Sikh community has been reacting to his remarks in the US and expressing outrage, Rahul Gandhi is brazenly defending his remarks and justifying it."
"No Sikh community is supporting Rahul Gandhi. The support is coming from the 'seek for justice' banned group. Rahul Gandhi did not once condemn the support from Pannun and he has been admiring that support so much so that he has been repeating all that he said all over again. Is there any limit to hypocrisy? The Congress only wants the support of the seek for justice group and that is why these things are being repeated, to instigate and to divide and rule, this is the target of Rahul Gandhi," he added.
Meanwhile, BJP cited a joint statement of several Sikh groups to ask Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his statement, which has allegedly created an atmosphere of fear in the country.
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that several Sikh and gurdwara management bodies met minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai over the issue and he asserted the sacrifices of the Sikhs have made the country strong.
"Today all the Sikh organisations across the country and several Sikh committees met with minister of state for home Nityanand Rai over the statement of Rahul Gandhi in the US. Rahul Gandhi should take his statement back, this is the demand of the Sikh delegation," Sirsa said.
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"I believe Rahul Gandhi will respect the sentiments of Sikhs and withdraw the statement he made in the US," he added.
Earlier, euring his address to a gathering of Indian Americans, Rahul Gandhi accused the RSS of considering certain religions, languages, and communities as inferior to others. He said that the fight in India is not about politics but about the rights of individuals to practice their religion freely.
Gandhi specifically asked a Sikh attendee, "What is your name, brother with the turban," and then said, "The fight is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or a kada in India. Or he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to a gurdwara. That's what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions."
"Fight is also about, I can see here in the crowd, people from Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala. When I say Kerala, I have been a Member of Parliament for Kerala. When I say Kerala, Kerala is a simple word, and Punjab is a simple word, but these are not simple words. This is your history, your language, your tradition. Your entire imagination is in these words,” the Congress leader said.