Following the outrage for the “uproot Gurdwara” comment in a public rally, BJP leader Sandeep Dayma apologised by stating he “wanted to say Masjid-Madrasa, but somehow said Gurdwara.”
The first comment against Sikhs was made during an election rally in the Tijara constituency of Rajasthan, in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adithyanath.
Dayma urged the public to vote for BJP candidate Baba Balaknath, who would remove Gurdwaras in Tijara.
After Sikh groups condemned the hate speech, the BJP leader shared a video where he apologised for saying Gurdwara instead of “masjid”.
“In his apology, BJP leader Sandeep Dayma who gave statement of uprooting Gurdwaras & Masjid during his party rally in Tijara, Rajasthan says, “I wanted to say Masjid-Madrasa, but somehow said Gurdwara.” He should be ashamed of this statement too, as speaking against religious places of Muslims is equally condemnable as Gurdwaras,” posted Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on X (formerly Twitter).
“The Khalsa Panth and its sword arm, the Shiromani Akali Dal, outrightly reject the qualified and weak apology offered by BJP leader from Rajasthan Sandeep Dayma for his outrageous, anti minority and anti national call for uprooting and demolishing Sikh Gurdhams as well as Masjids,” wrote Member of Parliament Sukhbir Singh Badal on X.
“He seems to suffer from an arrogant and perverted mindset and he doesn’t understand that there is no difference among shrines of different religions, be it a temple, a Gurdwara, a masjid or any other place of worship.@Akali_Dal_ stands for peace & communal harmony and demands that people like Sandeep Dayma who disturb peace and communal harmony should face case for destroying communal harmony. They should have no place in the country’s public life.”
