Rahul Gandhi’s 1984 Remark an Insult to Sikhs, Says BJP’s Tarun Chugh

By A Staff Reporter

New Delhi: BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh has strongly condemned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent remarks on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, calling them a “cruel insult” to the Sikh community. Gandhi, while speaking on the riots during a recent event, said he “wasn’t there, but is ready to take responsibility,” prompting backlash from the BJP.

Chugh accused the Congress and the Gandhi family of protecting those responsible for the violence. “The truth is that for 40 years, the Congress and the Gandhi family sheltered the culprits of the anti-Sikh riots,” he said, referencing the widespread violence in which thousands of Sikhs were killed following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

“In 1984, the way Sikhs were burnt alive in 52 cities, pulled out of their homes—Congress leaders did this deliberately,” Chugh claimed. He went on to name senior Congress figures, alleging, “If they had any shame, they would have taken action against Jagdish Tytler, Kamal Nath, Sam Pitroda, and Sajjan Kumar.”

Chugh described Rahul Gandhi’s comment as "rubbing salt into the wounds" of Sikh victims and their families. He urged the Congress to stop its “performative regret” and demanded real accountability for the decades-old tragedy that continues to haunt the Sikh community.