Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday shared a clip of a BJP leader purportedly "threatening" Rahul Gandhi and asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah cannot remain silent on such a "serious issue".
Members of the Delhi BJP's Sikh cell staged a protest against Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, near his 10, Janpath residence here, demanding an apology from him over his remarks in the US concerning the community.
Raising slogans and carrying placards, the protesters, including women, tried to approach the Congress leader's residence from Vigyan Bhawan, but were stopped by police at a barricade.
Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera shared a video on X in which BJP leader Tarvinder Singh Marvah is purportedly saying, "Rahul Gandhi baaz aaja nahi toh aane wale time mein tera bhi wohi haal hoga jo teri dadi ka haal hua (Rahul Gandhi, refrain from such things, otherwise in the coming time, you will also suffer the same fate as your grandmother)".
"Here is a BJP leader openly threatening Mr Rahul Gandhi. Is he issuing this threat on your behalf @PMOIndia and @HMOIndia. Will you take action against him?" Khera said on X.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also shared the video and said the BJP leader is openly threatening to kill the Leader of the Opposition of this country.
She said BJP chief J P Nadda, Prime Minister Modi, and Home Minister Shah cannot remain silent on this.
"We will not tolerate this at any cost," she said.
AICC secretary Pranav Jha said, "This is a very serious matter. Delhi Police should take cognizance of this statement." "BJP leader Tarvinder Singh Marwah is openly threatening to murder the leader of the opposition ... Narendra Modi ji, you cannot remain silent on the threat of this leader of your party," he said in a post in Hindi on X.
The Congress also shared the video from its official X handle.
"This BJP leader is openly threatening to kill the Leader of Opposition of the country. Narendra Modi ji, you cannot remain silent on the threat of this leader of your party. This is a very serious matter. This is the product of your party's factory of hatred. Action has to be taken on this," the Congress said.
Addressing a gathering of several hundred Indian Americans in Washington DC on Monday, Gandhi accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of considering some religions, languages, and communities inferior to others and said the fight in India is about this and not about politics.
Asking the name of a turbaned person in the gathering, Gandhi 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 is what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions." The BJP protesters raised slogans against Gandhi, demanded his apology for "humiliating" Sikhs, and held the Congress responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the country.
Marwah, who is the Delhi BJP's Sikh cell in-charge, said Gandhi should learn the history of his family and acknowledge the atrocities inflicted on Sikhs by his grandmother and father.
"No other political party has wronged the Sikh community as much as the Congress," he said.
Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) national spokesperson R P Singh alleged that Gandhi had "insulted" Sikhs through his statement.
"Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the Sikh community is witnessing progress and the members of the community feel safe in India. The 1984 massacre, where Sikhs were beaten up and killed, occurred during Congress rule," he said.
Delhi BJP's Sikh cell convenor Charanjeet Singh Lovely said Gandhi's "small-mindedness is evident from his statement, claiming that Sikh turbans are not safe in India and that Sikhs lack religious freedom".
"The Congress has historically been the political party that caused the most harm to Sikhs," he said, citing the 1984 riots.