Leader of Opposition & Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took the internet by storm after his comment on 'Sikh's Turban' went viral on social media. Rahul Gandhi while addressing the Indian community in Virginia, Rahul Gandhi asked a person his name and said that the fight was about whether he, as a Sikh, was going to be allowed to wear a turban in India and be able to visit a Gurdwara or a Tamilian allowed to speak in his language. Below is what Rahul Gandhi said-
"First of all, you have to understand what the fight is about. The fight is not about politics. It is superficial. What is your name? ... brother ...with the turban... Balinder Singh ...The fight is about whether ... he as a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India... or he as a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear a kada in India... or he as a Sikh is going to be able to go to Gurdwara. That’s what the fight is about and not just for him, for all religions."
These particular remarks by Rahul Gandhi sparked a massive row on social media with many accusing the Congress leader of painting a dystopian picture of India on American soil.
Reacting to it, Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, Iqbal Singh Lalpura while talking to a newswire said, "These comments reflect his mentality and thinking. Nehru family never fulfilled the promises made to the Sikhs...Even after 40 years of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the National Commission for Minorities is trying to provide justice to the victims...PM Modi has taken many decisions for the welfare of Sikhs...BJP always promotes Sikhs...Sikhs are safe in the nation...The inheritance in India is from the father so Rahul Gandhi is also a minority as his grandfather Feroze Gandhi was a Parsi, a minority community...All religions are one. We should not make these kinds of statements..."
On the other hand, AAP leader Sanjay Singh backed Rahul Gandhi's comments. He said, "As far as the Sikh community is concerned, BJP has called them what not. They have called them Pakistani, Khalistani and terrorist. So, what kind of malicious intent BJP has for the Sikh community is visible to everyone."
Rahul Gandhi's full Sikh Turban statement
Rahul Gandhi in Virginia said, "First of all, you have to understand what the fight is about. The fight is not about politics. It is superficial. What is your name? ... brother ...with the turban... Balinder Singh ...The fight is about whether ... he as a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India... or he as a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear a kada in India... or he as a Sikh is going to be able to go to 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."
Rahul Gandhi attacked the RSS saying it does not believe in diversity. "...And what the RSS is basically saying is that certain states are inferior to other states, certain languages are inferior to other languages, certain religions are inferior to religions, and certain communities are inferior to other communities... that is what the fight is all about .. we are of the opinion that whether you are from Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh.. all of you have your history, tradition, language.. and every one of them is important. What would you do if someone told you that you could not speak Tamil.. how would you feel...how would you react ... that is the ideology of the RSS is ... that Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, and Manipuri ... are inferior languages... That is what the fight is about...,"added Rahul Gandhi.