Washington/IBNS: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has drawn a taunt from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after he talked during his ongoing US visit about religious freedom in India citing Sikh examples, media reports said.

Speaking at an event in Herndon, Virginia, Gandhi said, "The fight (in India) is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear a turban...whether a Sikh will be allowed to wear a kada or go to the Gurudwara. That's what the fight is about, and it's not just for Sikhs, but for all religions"

In a jibe soon after the remarks, Union Minister Hardeep Puri said, "I think he needs to do some serious introspection. The Sikh community is a proud and hardworking community but they are also emotional. He has tried to set a misleading narrative."

"I have been wearing a turban and a kada for over sixty years and no one asked me why... I never had a problem," he said. 

He reminded Rahul Gandhi of the 1984 riots and said the only time India's Sikhs faced persecution was when his family members like Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were in power.

He said Rahul Gandhi is doing this purposely and not because of his political immaturity. He is deliberately trying to incite the Sikhs outside India who are not aware of how Sikhs live in India, Puri said.

BJP national spokesperson RP Singh said as quoted by India Today, "In 1984, 3,000 Sikhs were massacred in Delhi, their turbans were taken off, their hair chopped, and their beards shaved. He doesn’t mention that this happened when the Congress was in power."

Backing Rahul Gandhi, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said as quoted by India Today, "Since when has BJP become synonymous with India? There should be no misunderstanding that criticising the BJP is the same as criticising India”.

The anti-Sikh riots had erupted in different parts of the country following Indira Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh security guards in the wake of the army operation in the Amritsar Golden Temple to flush out terrorists. The pogrom claimed at least 3,000 lives across the country.

According to US-based Human Rights Watch, successive Indian governments’ failure to prosecute those most responsible for killings and other abuses during the 1984 anti-Sikh violence highlights India’s weak efforts to combat communal violence.

A diasporic revival of Sikh separatist Khalistan movement by banned organisations like Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has kept the Indian government on its toes in recent years with the secessionists receiving political support from governments like Canada leading to souring of ties with New Delhi.

The Khalistan movement, backed by countries like Pakistan and some foreign powers, seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing an ethno‐religious sovereign state called Khalistan, had reached its zenith in the late 1980s and led to the Operation Bluestar in Golden Temple, the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards and an anti-Sikh riot across India.