Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri | Photo Credit: ANI
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri who is currently in the United States has severely criticised Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accusing him of having a “Jinnah like” mindset, that wants the nation to bleed and “foment a divisive narrative.”
“He (Rahul Gandhi) never talked about the Sikhs while being in India. This is a narrative anchored in total lies.” Mr. Puri, who is in Washington DC for discussions with United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said.
The Minister also alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s comments showed that there was a “systematic sinister” attempt to divide.
“I think there is a more systematic sinister, and I’m using this word carefully, attempt to foment a divisive narrative, to create a sense of insecurity and freedom,” Mr. Puri said.
Mr. Puri also praised PM Modi saying that it was under his leadership that many initiatives had been take for Sikhs including the opening of the Kartarpur corridor. “I think it’s a matter of great pride for somebody like me to say that the Sikhs have never had it so good, all the grievances which were there have actually been addressed by the honorable Prime Minister, whether it is removing names of Sikhs from the blacklist, whether it is addressing the issue of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor or celebrating the Sahibzada’s contribution in terms of Veer Bal Divas, etc.
Every community has grievances. Let me assure you the majority community also has grievances that they are made to sometimes feel like a minority community in their own country. But the beauty of a democracy, and by the way, we have 960 million registered voters and something like 680 million actually turned out to vote. That is a celebration of democracy,” Mr. Puri said.
Published – September 17, 2024 03:04 pm IST
