A major controversy has arisen in Rajasthan ahead of the Assembly election over the remarks of a BJP leader on the religious places of two minority communities at a rally attended by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Tijara. BJP leader Sandeep Dayma’s apology has failed to satisfy the Sikh community leaders.
Mr. Dayma, who was the BJP candidate from Tijara in the 2018 Assembly election, said at a public meeting in the town on November 1 that Gurdwaras in the region had become “open sores”, which should be uprooted. He said the Alwar MP Baba Balak Nath, contesting the polls on BJP ticket in Tijara, would complete the task.
“A large number of Gurdwaras have come up recently in the Tijara region. They are going to become a big problem in future… So it is our religious responsibility to uproot these open sores from here,” Mr. Dayma said while seeking votes for Mr. Balak Nath. The BJP, if elected to power, would take care of such issues, he said in the presence of Mr. Adityanath.
Outraged over the remarks, the members of the Sikh community held protest demonstrations in Tijara and Jaipur and demanded action against Mr. Dayma. Tijara Returning Officer has issued a notice to Mr. Dayma over his statements and asked him to submit his reply.
Mr. Dayma tendered a public apology in the matter on Thursday by releasing a video in which he said he wanted to refer to Masjid-Madrasa in his speech, but somehow said Gurdwara. “I don’t know how I committed this mistake. I cannot even think of disrespecting Sikhs, who are known to have protected Sanatan Dharma,” he said.
However, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), a representative organisation of Sikhs, expressed dissatisfaction over Mr. Dayma’s apology and said his intention to speak against religious places of Muslims was “equally condemnable”. “He should be ashamed of this statement too,” the SGPC stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Khalsa Helping Hand’s general secretary Jagjeet Singh Suri, who organised the protest outside the Raja Park Gurdwara here, told The Hindu that Sikhs were outraged even after Mr. Dayma’s purported justification for his speech. “We respect the places of worship of all communities equally. How can we tolerate the BJP leader’s declaration to uproot mosques and madrasas?” Mr. Suri said.
Mr. Suri demanded action against Mr. Dayma for promoting communalism through his remarks. Shiromani Akali Dal president and Firozpur MP Sukhbir Singh Badal said the Khalsa Panth outrightly rejected Mr. Dayma’s “qualified and weak apology”. “He seems to suffer from an arrogant and perverted mindset. He doesn’t understand that there is no difference among the shrines of different religions, be it a temple, a Gurdwara, or a Masjid,” Mr. Badal said.
Tijara Assembly constituency is at present held by Sandeep Kumar, who won as a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate in 2018 and later joined the ruling Congress along with other BSP MLAs. Mr. Dayma secured third position in the 2018 Assembly poll.
