Rahul Gandhi Says He’ll Take Responsibility for Congress Party's Past 'Mistakes', Including 1984 Riots

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said he is ready to take responsibility for everything the Congress party has done wrong in its history, including the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. His statement came during a question-answer session at Brown University in the United States, where a young Sikh man strongly questioned the Congress's past actions and attitude towards the Sikh community.

The video of the exchange was later shared by BJP’s IT Cell head Amit Malviya, who claimed Rahul Gandhi was being "ridiculed around the world".

Rahul Questioned on 1984, Sikh Rights

At the event hosted by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, the Sikh youngster asked Gandhi about a past statement in which he had claimed the BJP’s India would not allow Sikhs to wear turbans or visit Gurudwaras freely. Challenging that remark, the student said, “We don't just want to wear kadas or turbans — we want freedom of expression, something that wasn't allowed under Congress rule either.”

He cited the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, which, he said, was wrongly branded by Congress as a separatist document even though it also focused on Dalit rights. The man also named former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, convicted in connection with the 1984 riots, and added, “Many more Sajjan Kumars are sitting in the Congress today.”

He told Gandhi, “You tell us to fear BJP's India, but you haven't made real efforts to reconcile with the Sikh community. If this continues, BJP will enter Punjab too.”

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Gandhi Says He's ‘Happy to Take Responsibility’

Responding to the pointed questions, Rahul Gandhi said, “I don’t believe Sikhs are scared of anything. What I was saying was, do we want an India where people are uncomfortable expressing their religion?”

He also acknowledged past mistakes in the same conversation and said, “A lot of these things happened when I wasn’t even there. But I am happy to take responsibility for everything Congress has done wrong in its history.”

He added that he had publicly condemned what happened in the 1980s and visited the Golden Temple several times. “I have very good relations with the Sikh community in India,” said Gandhi, who is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

BJP Hits Out, Shares Video Clip

After the video surfaced online, BJP's Amit Malviya shared the clip on social media, accusing Rahul Gandhi of hypocrisy and “fear-mongering” during his foreign visits. “It is quite unprecedented that Rahul Gandhi is now being ridiculed not just in India but across the world,” Malviya wrote.

What Happened in 1984?

The 1984 anti-Sikh riots followed the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. The killing came months after Operation Blue Star — a military assault ordered by Indira Gandhi at the Golden Temple to flush out separatist preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

The army operation left parts of the temple complex in ruins and deeply hurt Sikh sentiments. After her death, mobs led by Congress leaders were accused of targeting Sikhs, killing over 3,000 people in Delhi and other parts of the country. Congress has long struggled with the legacy of these events, including controversial remarks like Rajiv Gandhi’s statement: “When a big tree falls, the ground shakes.”

The BJP continues to use the 1984 riots as a key point of attack against the Congress, especially when it raises issues of communal violence under the Modi government.