Punjab: Sikh body hails Rahul’s remarks made on community

The members of the Sabha came out in support of the Leader of Opposition’s (LoP) in the Lok Sabha for “endorsing the Sikh assertion that they and all other minorities, have inalienable right to adhere to and protect their religious, linguistic and cultural rights in India”

Delhi

Rahul Gandhi has taken a step in the right direction, opposing the ongoing politics of hate, communalisation and targeting of minorities in the country, the Sabha members said. (HT File)

The Kendri Singh Sabha, a central body of Singh Sabha Gurdwara, on Wednesday hailed Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on the treatment of Sikhs in India, made at an event held in the United States earlier this month.

The members of the Sabha came out in support of the Leader of Opposition’s (LoP) in the Lok Sabha for “endorsing the Sikh assertion that they and all other minorities, have inalienable right to adhere to and protect their religious, linguistic and cultural rights in India”.

Gandhi has taken a step in the right direction, opposing the ongoing politics of hate, communalisation and targeting of minorities in the country, the Sabha members said. The LoP is supporting the idea that India represents diversity instead of RSS’s ideology of one nation, they added.

At an event in the US, Gandhi had stated that religious freedom for Sikhs in India is under threat. He further claimed that the fight in India was not about politics, but about whether a Sikh could wear a turban or go to a gurdwara because the RSS was treating certain states and religions as inferior. The statement had sparked controversy across the nation.

The Sabha said that some Sikh leaders in league with the ruling BJP had deliberately distorted Gandhi’s statement.