'Doing like Jinnah': Hardeep Singh Puri's salvo from US at Rahul Gandhi

Sep 17,2024

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who is currently touring the United States, accused the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, of having a mentality akin to Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Reacting to the remarks made by Gandhi in the US earlier this month, Puri alleged the former wants the nation to "bleed".

At an event in Virginia during his three-day visit to the United States, Rahul Gandhi said that the fight in India was not about politics. Turning to a Sikh member of the audience, Gandhi asked for his name and then said, “The fight is about whether he, as a Sikh, is going to be allowed to wear a turban in India; or whether, he, as a Sikh, will be allowed to wear a kada in India; or whether he, as a Sikh, is allowed to go to a Gurdwara. That’s what the fight is about, and not just for him, but for all religions”.

Reacting to the remark, Hardeep Singh Puri said Rahul Gandhi never talked about the Sikhs in India.

"When they were in power, which government produced the monsters...they need to do some solid introspection, why this happened. This is a narrative anchored in total lies and. Therefore I am not surprised that he is going around doing it but it is, I think, this thing about Muhammad Ali Jinnah, what he did, that either I want what I want, or else I will destroy it," Puri said, according to ANI.

Puri said Rahul Gandhi wants the nation to bleed into a “kind of a breakup”.

"There can be some differences. But the whole beauty of democracy is to sit and address this issue...They should see the contribution of RSS to the nation. The one distinguishing feature in PM Modi's government's ideology is Nation First...but he (Rahul Gandhi) is doing like Jinnah...you want to bleed it into a kind of breakup. But I want to remind them that our very old, more than 5000 years old, culture and civilization, is an old civilization. People like this will not be able to break it, and we are a proud nation," he added.

Puri accused Rahul Gandhi of trying to "foment a divisive narrative".

"I have worn a turban for 62 years of my life. I've worn a Kada even longer. I think most children in our families when they're born, the first occasion, you know, they put a kada around. But, I think the more disturbing trend is, you know, to say that this is a statement which was made out of ignorance. I think that's wrong. I think there is a more systematic sinister, and I'm using this word carefully, attempting to foment a divisive narrative, to create a sense of insecurity and freedom," Hardeep Puri added.