‘Gurdwaras on rise, uproot them’: BJP apologetic as leader’s remarks in Alwar face Sikh ire, EC rap – The Indian Express

A former BJP candidate from the seat, Dayma delivered the speech at a rally in Tijara on Wednesday, on the day of the nomination filing of Balak Nath, in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Balak Nath is seen as close to the Uttar Pradesh CM.

In the speech, Dayma said: “Kis tarah se itni masjiden, kis tarah se gurdware yahan par banakar chhodh diye! Ye aage chalkar hamare liye nasoor ban jayega. Isiliye hamara sabka dharam bhi banta hai ki is nasoor ko yahan se ukhad kar faink denge, aur Baba Balak Nathji ko bhari maton se jeetayenge (See how many mosques, gurdwaras have been built here! This will become an ulcer for us in the future. That is why it’s our duty that this ulcer be uprooted and thrown out, and Baba Balak Nathji win by a huge majority).”

With the BJP making a sustained outreach to the Sikh community, led from the very top, the party acted quickly to contain the damage. With the Election Commission sending a notice to Dayma, Balak Nath spoke to reporters, saying the Sikh community “has always protected Sanatan Dharm and sanskriti” and hoped that “it will forgive if some mistake has been made by some kids”.

“At times, unknowingly, some paap (sin) happens. In that context, I pray to Guru Gobind Singhji for forgiveness. I will also tell Sandeep Dayma to go to the door of Guru Gobind Singhji and do some dharam punya ka karya (religious activity), so that he can be dosh-mukt (sin free),” he added.

After Dayma’s speech surfaced, protests had erupted, with the Sikh community, who number around 5,000 in Tijara, burning effigies of Dayma and shouting slogans against Balak Nath and Adityanath. On Thursday, Dayma released a video of apology, but at the same time, targeted Muslims, which make up the single largest group in Tijara.

“… In place of masjid-madrasa, I mistakenly ended up using some wrong words about the Gurdwara Saheb. I seek apology with folded hands from the entire Sikh community, which has always protected Hinduism and Sanatan Dharma… I don’t know how I committed the mistake. I will repent for this mistake by going to a gurdwara, I apologise to the entire Sikh community with folded hands. Sat Sri Akal!” he said in the video.

On Friday, Dayma posted another video, of him offering prayers at a gurdwara the day earlier.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee took note of the matter, and sharing the video apology issued by Dayma, posted on X Thursday that the BJP leader had compounded his mistake. “BJP leader Sandeep Dayma… 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.”

Tijara SDO and Returning Officer Anoop Singh told The Indian Express that a notice for violating the model code of conduct had been issued to Dayma.

A former chairman of the Bhiwadi Municipal Council, Dayma, who belongs to the Gujjar community, finished third in 2018 in his bid for the Tijara seat. BSP leader Sandeep Yadav who won shifted to the Congress later.

While the controversy appears to have blown up now, the BJP has been accused of trying to win Tijara this time through polarisation. The seat falls in the Meo belt on the Rajasthan-Haryana border, which has a heavy concentration of Muslims. In Tijara, they number around 70,000.

At the rally where Dayma made his controversial speech, Adityanath had accused the Congress of “Talibani mentality”, adding: “The Congress government in Rajasthan is Hindu virodhi (against the Hindus)… The cure for the Taliban is the gada (mace) of Bajrang Bali. You can see how Israel is crushing the Talibani mentality in Gaza, with precise targets.”

The Congress has fielded Imran Khan, giving a ticket to him days after he switched to the party from the BSP. Congress sources said Khan has good support on the ground. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he had contested on a BSP ticket from Alwar and come third after the BJP’s Balak Nath and the Congress.

Commenting on Dayma’s speech, Congress general secretary and spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said: “The BJP fights elections on the basis of communal politics.”

With the contest split along religious lines, the BJP has gone about setting its house in order in Tijara. A rebel leader, Maman Singh Yadav, who had been threatening to contest, has been convinced to drop out.

The Yadav community, to which both he and Balak Nath belong, is the second-largest group in Tijara, numbering more than 50,000. After earlier threatening that Balak Nath would be defeated, Yadav has now extended his support to the BJP candidate.