Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday attacked Rahul Gandhi over the INDIA bloc’s rally in Delhi on the anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying the gathering would “rub salt in the wounds” of the victims.
The Opposition alliance held the rally at Ramlila Maidan to protest alleged electoral irregularities and demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
“Rahul Gandhi’s November 1 ‘jalsa’ in Delhi will only rub salt in wounds of anti-Sikh riot victims,” Shah said at a gathering in Chandigarh, where he inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for development projects worth Rs 258 crore.
“The day the Sikh genocide happened, on that very day, they had to hold a rally,” he added.
SHAH TARGETS ‘MOHABBAT KI DUKAAN’ SLOGAN
Shah questioned Gandhi’s “mohabbat ki dukaan” slogan, saying the decision to hold a rally on what he described as a dark day reflected hatred.
“If you want to become PM, stay in mock parliament your entire life. Your turn won’t come,” he said.
His remarks came a day after the INDIA bloc conducted a symbolic “public impeachment” of Kumar, accusing him of deleting voters’ names to help steal elections. The alliance demanded that he be tried for treason and jailed.
Shah also accused the Opposition of lying, spreading anarchy and disrupting Parliament.
“Telling lies, spreading anarchy, not letting Parliament function, this is your ‘fitrat’ (true nature),” he said.
SHAH RECALLS RAJIV GANDHI’S REMARK
Recalling the violence against Sikhs in Delhi, Shah said thousands were brutally murdered, while families lost their homes and livelihoods.
“Thousands of Sikhs were burnt alive. Many Sikhs had to leave their homes, many children were orphaned, many sisters were widowed and homes of many were burnt,” he said.
Shah also referred to then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s remark following the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
“And the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi gave a statement and I saw that on TV and I cannot forget that for rest of my life. He had said when a big tree falls, the earth shakes,” Shah said.
He added that only Congress leaders could have made such a remark after the killing of thousands of Sikhs.
Shah said the Narendra Modi government reopened cases related to the riots after coming to power in 2014. Compensation of Rs 5 lakh was given to the next of kin of each person killed, he said, adding that prominent Congress leaders were jailed.
“India has never witnessed, nor will it ever witness, riots of this kind, incited by a political party,” he said.
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