NEW DELHI: Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and BJP were engaged in a war of words over recent lynching incidents in Punjab. The former said lynching was never heard before the BJP government came to power in 2014. The BJP retorted saying that former PM Rajiv Gandhi was the ‘father of lynching’, referring to the 1984 aniti-Sikh riots in Delhi.
“Before 2014, the word ‘lynching’ was practically unheard of. #ThankYouModiJi,” Rahul posted on Twitter. It came days after two incidents of lynching in Punjab over alleged desecrations at Gurdwaras. The BJP was quick to say that rather than questioning the Congress ruled government in the state, Rahul was attacking the Central government.
“Meet Rajiv Gandhi, father of mob lynching, justifying blood curdling genocide of Sikhs. Congress took to streets, raised slogans like khoon ka badla khoon se lenge, raped women, wrapped burning tyres around necks of Sikh men while dogs gorged on charred bodies dumped in drains,” tweeted BJP’s leader Amit Malviya.
BJP spokesperson and former Congress leader Tom Vadakkan said: “The dynast should remember 1984 and the anti-Sikh riots — that’s what set a precedent to the act of lynching.”