Rahul Gandhi, Controversy Travel Together: Decoding the Opposition Leader’s Remarks On EC, Sikhs In US

Controversy has a way of travelling. And if it is Rahul Gandhi, the journey seems inevitable.

In his first visit abroad as the Leader of Opposition (LoP), Gandhi has once again stoked controversy. While he focused on many issues such as the need for caste census and denial of constitutional rights, two issues have brought his visit in the news for all the wrong reasons.

First, he questioned the entire electoral process by saying that the Election Commission (EC) was dictated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the phases and planning of the poll schedule. His close aide Sam Pitroda, too, said the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) were being hacked and both told the people that if the EC was non-partisan, the results would have been different. Critics would say that it denies legitimacy to the fact that the Modi government has been sworn in for the third time. But countries such as Pakistan and China who have scant regard for Indian interests, but need lessons in democracy, would have a reason to smile.

What comes as a bigger shocker is Gandhi’s comments on Sikhs. Speaking in the US, Gandhi said, “The fight is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear a turban in India, whether a Sikh will be allowed to wear a kada in India, or will be able to go to the gurdwara. That’s what the fight is all about. It is not just for Sikhs, but for all religions."

Predictably, the BJP has reminded the Congress and Gandhi about the 1984 Sikh riots. The problem with Gandhi’s comments is that they seem out of sync with the reality of the 1984 horrors. One of the reasons why Dr Manmohan Singh was chosen as the PM was also because he was a Sikh. And the Congress top leadership felt that this would assuage the Sikhs who were upset with the Congress over the 1984 riots.

Dr Singh had apologised on the floor of the house, which was echoed by the Gandhis as well. But the presence of Jagdish Tytler at Congress events has given enough ammunition to the BJP to questions on the “remorse" of the Congress over the riots.

Gandhi’s strategy is to show that the BJP divides people on religious and caste lines. Each time Gandhi questions the electoral process and accuses the PM of running a “government of hatred", he seeks to show the Congress as the only one who can provide an alternative to the BJP.