Congress party has always had to face the ire of a statement allegedly made by former prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, soon after Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards, Beant Singh and Satwant Singh on 31 October 1984.
Sikh groups and Congress’ political rivals always cornered the party using this statement of Rajiv Gandhi.
And just when Congress was trying to make a fresh beginning, its West Bengal unit appears to have opened the old wounds.
On Saturday, when the whole country marked the birth anniversary of the former prime minister, enthusiastic party members and units began to fervently began to post famous quotes of Rajiv Gandhi.
West Bengal unit posted the controversial statement of Rajiv Gandhi believed to justify the anti-Sikh riots in the event of his mother’s death.
The tweet said, “When a big tree falls, the ground shakes.”
This caused social media outrage prompting people to question the party if it ever felt any remorse for the comments made by Rajiv Gandhi.
Although, Manas Bhunia said that state party president Adhir Choudhury should take responsibility for the “condemnable” tweet, the damage appears to already have been done.
Tweet from official Congress handle. pic.twitter.com/uGu4T3xe46
— Pradeep (@phegde127) August 20, 2016
Congress tweet on Sikh massacre shows its mentality. It is still nursing hatred against Sikhs.
— Sudesh Verma (@SudeshBJP) August 20, 2016
Does Bengal Congress remember Rajeev Gandhi only for this – "When a big tree falls, ground shakes." https://t.co/COdt6QYHG0
— Manak Gupta (@manakgupta) August 20, 2016
Pathetic tweet, opening the old wounds. Sad, if this is really endorsed by Congress. https://t.co/wWAkAoMCUg
— हीरामनHeeramanतिवारीTiwari (@heeraman98) August 20, 2016
Congress rubbing salt on wounds of Sikhs/1 @htTweets @TimesNow @timesofindia @JagranNews @DainikBhaskar pic.twitter.com/3vp0DdAw5n
— Manjinder S Sirsa (@mssirsa) August 20, 2016
The development is extremely bad news for Congress, which is seeking to return to power in Punjab in next year’s crucial assembly elections.
