India
Have huge respect for Sikh community, India would not be India had it not been for them: Rahul | India News
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GAUNSPUR (DASUYA): Completing a week of his Bharat Joto Yatra in Punjab, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday that India would not be India had it not been for the Sikh community.
Responding to a query on reconciliation given the bitter history of Punjab and Sikhs with the Congress, he said he had tremendous love and affection for the people of Punjab and, in particular, the Sikh community. “Reconciliation is a small word. It is an emotional statement. I have love and affection for the people of this state and I have huge respect for the Sikh community for what they have done and what they are going to do in future. I think India would not be India had it not been for the Sikh community, you play a central role here. In many ways you are part of the backbone of the country and that is something I value tremendously,” said Rahul.
Before starting his yatra in Punjab, Rahul had gone to Darbar Sahib with a specially tied kesri turban and then paid obeisance at Fatehgarh Sahib gurdwara.
On opposition parties like Akali Dal’s demand for an apology for the 1984 Operation Blue Star and anti-Sikh riots, he said, “Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the floor of the house has made his and the Congress’s position very clear. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi has also done that and I fully endorse what Dr Manmohan Singh said, what Sonia Gandhi said and I have also made my stance abundantly clear in the past.”
Responding to a query on reconciliation given the bitter history of Punjab and Sikhs with the Congress, he said he had tremendous love and affection for the people of Punjab and, in particular, the Sikh community. “Reconciliation is a small word. It is an emotional statement. I have love and affection for the people of this state and I have huge respect for the Sikh community for what they have done and what they are going to do in future. I think India would not be India had it not been for the Sikh community, you play a central role here. In many ways you are part of the backbone of the country and that is something I value tremendously,” said Rahul.
Before starting his yatra in Punjab, Rahul had gone to Darbar Sahib with a specially tied kesri turban and then paid obeisance at Fatehgarh Sahib gurdwara.
On opposition parties like Akali Dal’s demand for an apology for the 1984 Operation Blue Star and anti-Sikh riots, he said, “Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the floor of the house has made his and the Congress’s position very clear. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi has also done that and I fully endorse what Dr Manmohan Singh said, what Sonia Gandhi said and I have also made my stance abundantly clear in the past.”
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