Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the premier Sikh religious body, has slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for comparing his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ to Guru Nanak’s ‘Udasis’, during his address in California. The leader could face more trouble as another Sikh organisation, Sikh Coordination Committee of US, has decided to protest during his tour of New York.

Rahul’s (Gandhi) statement was an expression of his short-sightedness and poor knowledge of Sikh history, said SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami. He advised Gandhi to refrain from rubbing salt in the wounds of the Sikhs and avoid clashing with the community’s history, personalities of Sikh Gurus and Sikh concerns.

“He talks about uniting India but should remember the Sikh genocide by his party in 1984. Were the 1984 anti-Sikh riots executed at the behest of his parent party leaders for uniting the nation? He must clarify it,” Dhami said.

General secretary of the SGPC, Gurcharan Singh Grewal said Guru Nanak travelled for the betterment of the world but ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ was focused on political gains and garnering a vote bank.

“It could never be justified to compare Rahul’s (Gandhi) political tour with that of Guru Nanak Dev’s ‘Udasis’. It has hurt Sikh sentiments. Basically, Congress ideology was anti-Punjab. Many issues like bifurcation of Punjabi-speaking areas, water problem or Punjab’s capital issue cropped up during Congress tenure at the Centre, which could never be rectified to date,” Grewal said.

Activists of a US-based Sikh coordination committee said they raised slogans against the Congress leader in California for comparing his ‘yatra’ to that of Guru Nanak. “He will face the same opposition in New York as well. Sikhs could not forget the wounds given by the Gandhi family, be it the attack on Golden Temple or anti-Sikh riots,” they said.