Jalandhar: A speech made by a BJP leader in poll-bound Rajasthan has led to a major controversy in Punjab, with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) slamming Sandeep Dayma for making remarks that first targeted Muslim and Sikh religious places and later Muslim ones alone.In a video that has gone viral on social media, Dayma said during an election rally in the Tijara legislative assembly constituency in Rajasthan that if the BJP comes to power, mosques and gurudwaras would be “uprooted”.The statement led to widespread anger among the Sikhs, forcing Sandeep Dayma to issue an apology.But the “apology” too was laced with religious hatred, but only against the Muslim community. Dayma said, “It was a slip of the tongue and what I wanted to say was that ‘mosques and madrasas’ would be uprooted. I wanted to say ‘masjid-madrasa’, but somehow said gurudwara. I apologise with folded hands.”The BJP leader was speaking at a rally held in the presence of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and a host of other party leaders. The rally was in favour of BJP’s Tijara candidate Baba Balaknath.Reacting strongly to the speech, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said Dayma should be ashamed of his “apology” as speaking against the religious places of Muslims is “equally condemnable” as speaking against gurudwaras.Dhami took notice of the BJP leader’s statement to ‘uproot’ gurudwaras, adding that “gurudwara Sahibs are established all over the world today to promote the principle of ‘Sarbat Da Bhala’ (welfare of all), blessed by Sri Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh Guru.”“The gurudwaras have always helped the distressed and the needy. Whenever there is a calamity in the country and abroad, gurudwaras and Sikh bodies have always been at the forefront and served humanity without any discrimination,” he said.The SGPC president said that the hate statement made by Dayma reveals the “conspiracy of BJP leaders to defeat the holy thought of Sri Guru Nanak Dev”. He said today’s BJP leaders have the same narrow-minded thinking that Guru Nanak fought against.Dhami also slammed Yogi Adityanath for not condemning Dayma’s statement. “It was his responsibility to oppose such hateful statements on the spot. It is sad that as the chief minister of a state, Adityanath also became part of this phenomenon. History is witness to the fact that the Congress also attacked Sikh shrines under the same thinking and today the BJP is also seen walking on the same path,” he said.The SGPC president said Adityanath, the organisers of the rally Dayma should apologise for hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community and asked the BJP’s top leadership to clarify its position in this regard.‘BJP’s agenda against minorities exposed’Former Akal Takht chief Giani Harpreet Singh, who has been critical of the politics of the BJP-RSS, said nothing could be more deplorable in a democracy than the targeting of minorities. “The minorities are already living in fear and such a statement that ‘masjids and gurudwaras’ will be uprooted if the BJP comes to power in Rajasthan … was meant to further create fear,” he said.Giani Harpreet Singh demanded that the BJP should oust Dayma for his communal remarks and lodge an FIR against him. “Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and all others who were present on the stage and cheering Sandeep Dayma’s speech should also apologise. From this statement, the BJP’s agenda against minorities has become clear. A narrative is being set against the minorities,” he added.The ex-Akal Takht head emphasised that while the BJP talks of ‘Akhand Bharat’, the politics prevailing in India was weakening the country. “Politics of hatred is prevalent in the country. This might give you power but one cannot imagine the magnitude of loss and bloodshed the motherland faces,” he said.BJP Punjab leadership mumWhile BJP Punjab president Sunil Jakhar was not available for comments despite repeated attempts to contact him, former BJP Punjab president Ashwani Sharma claimed he was unaware about the controversy.Sharma said, “I do not know who [Dayma] is. I have not seen the video and neither heard about all this. But I want to remind you that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who observed a national-level programme on the martyrdom of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur at Lal Qila in Delhi. Tell me can such a party ever dishonor the Sikhs or the gurudwaras?”He refused to answer further queries, saying, “I am in Gwalior, I can’t comment much.”Sukhbir Badal rejects Dayma’s apologySharing the BJP leader’s apology video, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “The Khalsa Panth and its sword arm, the SAD outrightly reject the qualified and weak apology by the BJP leader from Rajasthan Sandeep Dayma for his outrageous, anti-minority and anti-national call for uprooting and demolishing Sikh Gurdhams as well as Masjids.”“He seems to suffer from an arrogant and perverted mindset and he does not understand that there is no difference among shrines of different religions, be it a temple, a gurdwara, a masjid or any other place of worship”, Badal wrote.He said the SAD stands for peace and communal harmony and demanded a case against Sandeep Dayma. “They should have no place in the country’s public life,” he added.SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal. Photo: Twitter/@Akali_DalCongress MP and other social media users react stronglyCongress MP from Khadoor Sahib Jasbir Singh Gill also shared on X: “The Gurdwaras have always served humanity and never asked about anybody’s religion or caste. Whether it was corona or any other natural calamity, the doors of gurdwaras, donation boxes and langar have always remained open for everybody. The low-level thinking and psychology of people like Sandeep will cost them dear- Nanak Naam Chardi Kala, Tere Bhane Sarbat da Bhala.”An active voice on major Punjab-centric and national issues on X, former Army doctor Major Harshvivek Singh wrote, “Jokers like this Sandeep can never ever scare Sikh Kaum (Sikh community). They can only make us stronger and more united.”Another user lauded the SGPC for supporting Muslims and said, “Respect to Sikhs and SGPC for respecting and speaking out for other religions too. True to the teachings of the Gurus. Sarbat da Bhala.”The X handle ‘Tracking Hate Against Sikhs’, which records incidents of hate speech, propaganda and rumours against Sikhs, also did not mince words in questioning the BJP’s stand on Dayma.They wrote: “In his farzi ‘apology’, BJP leader Sandeep Dayma has once again shown his hatred for minority communities in India. It was not just a slip of tongue when he called for the removal of gurudwaras and masjids during the BJP rally in Tijara; the entire BJP leadership, including UP CM Yogi Adityanath, cheered him.Neither the senior BJP leaders nor Sikh leaders in the BJP criticised his actions, let alone called for his removal from the party, the account said, tagging Sikh leaders like Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Iqbal Singh Lalpura, Hardeep Singh Puri and R.P. Singh.
