On 10th September (local time), Khalistani terrorist and founder of the Khalistani terrorist organisation Sikhs For Justice, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, extended his support to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is currently on a trip to the United States of America. In a statement, Pannun expressed his delight over the irresponsible and misleading statement about Sikhs made by Gandhi during a public address in Washington DC and called the Congress leader’s statement “bold and pioneering.”
Pannun further claimed that the statement made by Gandhi is “firmly grounded in the factual history of what Sikhs have been facing under successive regimes in India since 1947 and also corroborates SFJ’s stance on the justification for Punjab Independence Referendum to establish Sikh homeland Khalistan.”
In his official statement, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said, “Rahul Gandhi Reverberates SFJ’S Position On Khalistan.
Washington, D.C. September 10, 2024
While addressing the gathering in Washington DC where many pro-Khalistan Sikhs were in attendance, Rahul Gandhi justified SFJ’s global Khalistan Referendum campaign when he stated: ‘Fight in India is whether a Sikh will be allowed to wear turban and kada, go to gurudwara’.
Rahul’s statement on ‘existential threat to Sikhs in India’ is not only bold and pioneering but is also firmly grounded in the factual history of what Sikhs have been facing under successive regimes in India since 1947 and also corroborates SFJ’s stance on the justification for Punjab Independence Referendum to establish Sikh homeland Khalistan.“
Rahul Gandhi’s irresponsible statement on Sikhs and other religions in India
During his public address in Washington DC on 9th September (local time), Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi pointed towards a Sikh present in the attendees and asked his name. Then he moved ahead, suggesting that Sikhs are facing a threat to their existence and faith in India.
Gandhi said, “The fight is about whether he, as a Sikh, is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or whether he is going to be allowed to wear a Kara in India or whether a Sikh is going to be able to go to the Gurudwara. That’s what the fight is about, and not just for him, for all religions.”
He continued, “The fight is also about—I can see here in the crowd—people from Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana; I can see all these people—Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, right? So now see when I say, when I say Kerala, see, I’ve been a member of Parliament for Kerala. So now I say Kerala first, you know, first Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, now. So, first, when you say, you don’t understand these things. You say Kerala, it’s just a simple word, or you say Punjab, simple word, you know. But they’re not simple words. These are your history, your language, your traditional imagination is in these words, and what the RSS basically says is that certain states are inferior to other states, certain languages are inferior to other languages, certain religions are inferior to other religions, certain communities inferior to other communities. The fight is about the war of opinion that whether you are from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh—all of you have your history, all of you have your tradition, all of you have your language, and every single one of them is as important as any other one.”
BJP lashed out at Rahul Gandhi for his statement on Sikhs
Following Rahul Gandhi’s statement, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that Congress is trying to create a dangerous narrative by speaking on sensitive issues outside India. He added, “He [Rahul Gandhi] says Sikhs are facing troubles in wearing turban and kadas in the country. But I am extremely proud of the fact that this government has gone out of its way to address the issues of the Sikh community. I don’t think Sikhs have felt safer and more honoured… after 1947.”
In a post on X, he said, “One needs to figure out why the Leader of Opposition Mr Rahul Gandhi makes outlandish & defamatory statements about India on foreign soil. But what he has now said about Sikhs not being able to wear Kada and Turban border on being purely delusional and absurd. Truth is that Sikhs have never been safer anywhere in the world than they are in India today. If there ever was any fear or anxiety in their minds about being identified as Sikhs due to their Kada, Kirpan or Turban, it was only during the mindless one-sided violence and pogrom against members of the Sikh Sangat in 1984. This was when thousands of Sikhs were massacred and the act was justified by Rahul Ji‘s father Sh Rajiv Gandhi who said “जब कोई बड़ा पेड़ गिरता है तो धरती हिलती है” before his party went on to shield & protect the perpetrators for decades. It was during subsequent Congress regimes that Sikhs were denied justice and those responsible were rewarded with plum party posts. It took the determination of PM Narendra Modi Ji to get the cases reopened. Now they are all being held accountable one by one. Let me assure you, this govt will make sure that every perpetrator of the crimes and violence against the Sikh Sangat is brought to justice.“
One needs to figure out why the Leader of Opposition Mr Rahul Gandhi makes outlandish & defamatory statements about India on foreign soil. But what he has now said about Sikhs not being able to wear Kada and Turban border on being purely delusional and absurd.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) September 10, 2024
Truth is that… pic.twitter.com/nyVy9CQu6b
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Rahul Gandhi, who claims to be saving the Constitution, has said in America that he will scrap reservation when the conditions so warrant. With this, the prejudice against reservation which Rahul Gandhi has in abundance has been reflected in America…”
Banned Khalistani terrorist organisation Sikh For Justice and its founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is a US-based Khalistani terrorist who has citizenship in both the US and Canada. He poses as an attorney in the US and claims to be a front-runner in the fight for the rights of Sikhs. In reality, he consistently propagates the Khalistani sentiments and often issues threats against India. He has been actively promoting violence against Indian diplomats in Canada, the US and other countries where pro-Khalistani Sikhs have been living. He was designated as a terrorist by the Government of India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for his anti-India activities. His organisation, Sikhs For Justice, was also listed as a terrorist outfit by the Government of India.
