Accusing Congress of “crowning” those responsible for the anti-Sikh riots in 1984, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill on Tuesday made an appeal to the people of Punjab to completely boycott the Bharat Jodo Yatra which is set to enter the state on Tuesday.

Launching a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi, Shergill alleged that Congress and Gandhi’s anti-Sikh sentiment has not washed away.  “While on one hand the country is witnessing the BJP honouring the Sikh community, respecting their sentiments by dedicating December 26 (martyrdom day of Char Sahibzadas) as ‘Veer Bal Diwas’, opening of Kartarpur Corridor and securing Sri Guru Granth Sahib safely from war-torn Afghanistan, on the other hand the Congress is shamelessly, openly and brazenly crowning those responsible for the Sikh genocide of 1984 like Jagdish Tytler by inviting him to the meeting convened for the preparation of Bharat Jodo Yatra and making him a poll committee member for the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections. Being anti-Sikh is the true character of the Congress party,” Shergill said.

Terming the Yatra completely “directionless” and a “desperate attempt” of Rahul Gandhi to befool the people with his rhetoric and theatrics just for the lust for power, the BJP spokesperson said the people of Punjab have not forgotten how the Congress demolished the highest religio-temporal seat (Golden Temple) of the Sikhs with tanks and mortars during Operation Bluestar.

He said what happened in the year 1984 was not anti-Sikh riots, but a “planned genocide” of Sikhs by the Congress party. “To rub salt on the wounds of the Sikh community, Congress has been consistently crowning the perpetrators of 1984 bloodshed (Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar).” He added that Rahul has no moral right to take out the Yatra in Punjab when the Congress has spared no attempt to alienate the Sikh community,” Shergill said.

He also demanded that at Golden Temple, Rahul Gandhi must answer why Jagdish Tytler has not been expelled from Congress till date.

Continuing his attack against the Congress, Shergill said since the inception of Bharat Jodo Yatra, there have been attempts to create fissures in the society. “First it was the viral pictures of ‘khaki shorts’ being burnt that were released by the Congress. Thereafter, the second condemnable act was Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with Roman Catholic pastor George Ponnaiah, who has always used words against India and tarnished the image of Hindu gods and goddesses. Thirdly, people like Jagdish Tytler were crowned, as we have already mentioned,” he added.

Shergill also said that Bharat Jodo Yatra is pro-China and Rahul Gandhi’s utterances that ‘China Ke Sainik Hamare Jawano Ko Peet Rahe Hain’ (Chinese soldiers are beating up Indian Army personnel)  is an attempt to give credence to China’s claims that Chinese soldiers had an upper hand on Indian soldiers.

“Astonishingly, just to give China an upper hand, Rahul Gandhi blamed India’s domestic issues for being responsible for China’s incursion. He even went on to say that India is a confused nation without a vision which only shows his political frustration,” added the BJP spokesperson.

While taking a jibe at the Congress, Shergill also said the Bharat Jodo Yatra is nothing but an expensive PR stunt to keep Rahul Gandhi busy with no political returns whatsoever.