BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad slams Rahul Gandhi over November 1 rally, says date insults Sikhs

Senior BJP leader and MP Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday criticised Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for planning a protest rally in Delhi on November 1, saying the date is sensitive for the Sikh community.

November 1 is the date when, in 1984, Delhi and several other cities saw the anti-Sikh riots, a mass targeting of the Sikh community. The INDIA bloc, led by Gandhi, has scheduled a large rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on November 1 to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Prasad questioned why Gandhi wanted to hold the protest on that day. He alleged that the Congress leader was “trying to rub salt on the wounds of Sikhs”.

“Rahul Gandhi has an anarchist and Maoist mindset. Why does he want to create chaos on November 1? This is condemnable,” Prasad said.

He also criticised Gandhi for allegedly encircling the Supreme Court during protests earlier this month, calling it highly condemnable.

Prasad called the decision to go ahead with the rally “childish stubbornness” and said it showed Gandhi’s “true face”.

“If he wants to disrespect Sikhs, he will do so,” the BJP leader said.

Prasad questioned the Ranganath Misra Commission’s inquiry into the riots and said that the SIT set up by the BJP-led government in 2015 resulted in compensation for the victims and punishment for the guilty.

BJP highlights traders' plight

The BJP leader also said traders in areas such as Connaught Place, Kamla Nagar and Khan Market had been affected by the protests during the festive season, from Dussehra and Navratri to Chhath. He claimed a traders’ body had told him footfall had dropped by 70% and had asked that the November 1 protest be called off.

“Rahul Gandhi is irresponsible and indifferent to people’s plight,” Prasad said. “This kind of chaos and anti-democratic behaviour is a concern for traders.”

On police action

On police action, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Police will do what they have to do.”

Prasad also asked what Congress MP Imran Masood was doing at the Jamia Millia protests, where slogans such as “Free Sharjeel Imam” and “Azaadi” were raised. He asked whether Gandhi was “playing a hostile game with foreign countries to defame India”, and said, “Kashmir is and will remain part of India.”

Predicting a poor turnout at the rally, Prasad said, “I don’t think many people will come to the protest.” He added that the Congress had lost in Assam, Puducherry and West Bengal, “so people know what they want”.