CHANDIGARH: With the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections less than four months away, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday targeted senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, saying his rally in Delhi on the anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots could only "rub salt in the wounds of the victims".
He added that hatred was the only takeaway from Rahul's 'mohabbat ki dukaan' for holding a rally on such a dark day.
Shah was addressing a gathering in Chandigarh after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones for various development projects worth Rs 258 crore.
Slamming the INDIA bloc for holding its rally at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital and attacking the Congress over the riots, Shah said thousands were killed in the violence.
"Rahul Gandhi's November 1 'jalsa' in Delhi will only rub salt in the wounds of anti-Sikh riot victims. The day the Sikh genocide happened, on that very day, they had to hold a rally," he said.
"If you want to become PM, stay in mock Parliament your entire life. Your turn won't come. Telling lies, spreading anarchy, not letting Parliament function, this is your 'fitrat' (true nature)," Shah said, targeting the Opposition.
Shah said thousands of Sikhs were brutally murdered in Delhi during the anti-Sikh riots on November 1, 1984.
"Thousands of Sikhs were burnt alive. Many Sikhs had to leave their homes, many children were orphaned, many sisters were widowed and homes of many were burnt," Shah said.
"And the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi gave a statement and I saw that on TV and I cannot forget that for the rest of my life. He had said when a big tree falls, the earth shakes," he said, adding that only Congress leaders could make such a remark after the killing of thousands of Sikhs.
Shah said that when Narendra Modi's government came to power in 2014, it reopened all cases related to those involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. He added that compensation of Rs 5 lakh was given to the next of kin of each person killed in the riots, while prominent Congress leaders were put behind bars.
"India has never witnessed, nor will it ever witness, riots of this kind, incited by a political party," Shah said.
Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi's slogan of a 'shop of love', Shah said, "Rahul Gandhi, from your 'shop of love', people will only be able to take away hatred."
Taking another dig at the Congress leader, Shah suggested that he "stay in mock Parliament your entire life" if he wanted to become Prime Minister. He also predicted that Gandhi would never get an opportunity to hold the top post.
"If you want to become PM, stay in mock Parliament your entire life; your turn won't come," Shah said.
The remarks came a day after the INDIA bloc held a mock Parliament session to 'publicly impeach' Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who faces allegations of irregularities in the electoral process.
