New Delhi/IBNS: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has lashed out at Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi who favoured abolition of reservations in India if the country becomes a "fair place".

Speaking at an event in the US, Gandhi said, "We will think of scrapping reservations when India is a fair place and India is not a fair place."

In a sharp counter, Shah said the remark has exposed Congress' 'anti-reservation face' and challenged the LoP stating no one would be able to undo reservations as long as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power.

In a long X post, the Home Minister wrote, "Standing with forces that conspire to divide the country and making anti-national statements have become a habit for Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party. Whether it is supporting the JKNC's anti-national and anti-reservation agenda in J&K or making anti-India statements on foreign platforms, Rahul Gandhi has always threatened the nation's security and hurt sentiments.

"Rahul Gandhi's statement lays bare the Congress's politics of causing rifts on the lines of regionalism, religion, and linguistic differences. By speaking about abolishing reservations in the country, Rahul Gandhi has once again brought the Congress's anti-reservation face to the forefront. The thoughts that were in his mind eventually found their way out as words. I want to tell Rahul Gandhi that as long as the BJP is there, neither can anyone abolish reservations nor can anyone mess with the nation's security."

At a separate event in the US, Gandhi said he was misquoted and claimed his party was never against reservation and in fact Congress is in favour of increasing reservation beyond 50 percent.

"Somebody misquoted me saying that I am against reservation. I've been saying repeatedly that we are going to increase reservations beyond 50 percent."

Rahul Gandhi's Sikh rights remarks in the US draws BJP ire

Speaking at an event in Herndon, Virginia, Gandhi had 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."