Sirsa accuses Rahul Gandhi of reopening 1984 wounds with 1 November rally date

Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Wednesday accused Rahul Gandhi of choosing a date that would hurt Sikhs for the opposition’s next big protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The rally at Ramlila Maidan is set for 1 November, the day the anti-Sikh violence of 1984 broke out in Delhi after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Thousands of Sikhs were killed, most of them in the capital.

“The Sikh community has not forgotten the pain of November 1, 1984,” Sirsa said in a statement. “We strongly oppose any attempt to use the suffering of the victims for political gains.”

Speaking to reporters, the minister went further. “Rahul Gandhi has adopted the same modus operandi as his father and grandmother,” he said. “You are choosing the same day, November 1, to set the country on fire and break it. We condemn this and protest against this.”

He named Rajiv Gandhi, Jagdish Tytler, H K L Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar, Kamal Nath and Dharam Das Shastri as Congress figures linked to the 1984 killings. He also questioned the Congress leader’s foreign trips and claimed foreign powers had stirred unrest in Bangladesh, Nepal and France, without setting out any evidence. “How long will Rahul Gandhi continue his politics by relying on fake Gen-Z?” he asked.

The opposition parties announced their protest programme against the Chief Election Commissioner at a meeting in Delhi on 29 September. Delhi Police have issued a no-objection certificate for the Ramlila Maidan rally, where student groups and civil society organisations are also expected.

The Congress had not responded to Sirsa’s remarks by Wednesday night.