BJP's Sikh cell members protest against Rahul, demand apology over his remarks
New Delhi (PTI): Members of the Delhi BJP's Sikh cell staged a protest against Rahul Gandhi near his 10, Janpath residence here on Wednesday, demanding an apology from the Congress leader over his remarks in the US concerning the community.
Raising slogans and carrying placards, the protesters, including women, tried to approach Gandhi's residence from Vigyan Bhawan, but were stopped by police at a barricade.
Speaking at the protest Delhi BJP's Sikh cell in-charge Tarvinder Marwah said Gandhi should learn the history of his family and acknowledge the atrocities inflicted on Sikhs by his grandmother and father.
"Refrain (from such comments) Rahul Gandhi otherwise you will have the same fate as your grandmother," Marwah said addressing the protesters.
Indira Gandhi, former prime minister and grandmother of Rahul Gandhi, was assassinated by her bodyguards in 1984 soon after Operation Blue Star in Amritsar, that led to anti-Sikh riots in northern India soon after.
"No other political party has wronged the Sikh community as much as the Congress," said Marwah, a three-time former MLA of Congress from Jungpura seat in Delhi. He joined the BJP in July 2022.
Addressing a gathering of several hundred Indian Americans in Washington DC on Monday, Gandhi accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of considering some religions, languages and communities inferior than others and said the fight in India is about this and not about politics.
Asking the name of a turbaned person in the gathering, Gandhi said, "The fight is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or a kada in India. Or he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to a gurdwara. That is what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions."
At the protest against Gandhi in Delhi, demonstrators raised slogans against the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, demanded his apology for "humiliating" Sikhs and held the Congress responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the country.
Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) national spokesperson R P Singh alleged that Gandhi has "insulted" Sikhs through his statement.
"Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the Sikh community is witnessing progress and the members of the community feel safe in India.
The 1984 massacre, where Sikhs were beaten up and killed, occurred during the Congress rule," he said.
Delhi BJP's Sikh cell convenor Charanjeet Singh Lovely said Gandhi's "small-mindedness is evident from his statement, claiming that Sikh turbans are not safe in India and that Sikhs lack religious freedom".
"The Congress has historically been the political party that caused the most harm to Sikhs," he said, citing the 1984 riots.
The BJP has come down heavily on Gandhi over his remarks in the United States about Sikhs, saying the Congress leader is trying to create a "dangerous narrative" by speaking on "sensitive issues" abroad.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
