Angered by the offensive remarks made against the Sikh community, several members of the community gathered outside the home of former minister Harak Singh Rawat. They had come from different parts of the country. They camped outside the house and began performing Shabad Kirtan. They demanded that Rawat appear before them and apologize, but Rawat was out of Dehradun. After police persuasion, they returned, promising to return.
A video of Harak Singh Rawat’s derisive remarks about the Sikh community among lawyers had gone viral, sparking protests from across the country. This prompted around 30-35 people to gather outside Harak Singh Rawat’s residence in Defence Colony on Tuesday evening. Angered by the remarks, these people peacefully performed Shabad Kirtan there. Upon learning that Rawat was currently in Delhi, they demanded that Rawat immediately travel from Delhi to Dehradun and apologize before them, and they would leave. The local police persuaded them to do so. After nearly an hour of persuasion, everyone left.
Harak Singh also apologized to the Bar Association.
It is noteworthy that former minister Harak Singh Rawat had reached the protesting lawyers on Friday. There, he raised slogans in support of the lawyers and, in the meantime, made a derogatory remark about the Sikh community. The Sikh lawyers present there strongly objected to this, prompting Rawat to apologize. Harak Singh then apologized to the Bar Association. As a mark of remorse, he also visited the Paonta Sahib Gurudwara on Sunday. He performed langar seva and joda seva. Following this, former Chief Minister Harish Rawat also visited the Gurudwara at the Race Course and performed joda seva out of respect for the community’s sentiments.
Whatever the BJP people say is forgiven: Harak Singh
Congress leader and former minister Dr. Harak Singh Rawat said, “Whatever the BJP people say is forgiven, but if any words come out of my mouth, they are linked to religion.” In a statement that went viral on social media, Harak Singh said, “Sometimes we say something jokingly and out of affection. It’s not right to blow it out of proportion.” During BJP leader Premchand Aggarwal’s tenure as Assembly Speaker, the late BJP MLA, Harbhajan Singh Cheema, arrived late. He requested the Speaker that he had a question pending. The Speaker replied, “Cheema, it’s already 12 o’clock. Question Hour runs from 11 to 12 o’clock.” This led to ridicule of the late Cheema in the House. Prime Minister Modi had talked about turning potatoes into gold, and when Rahul Gandhi repeated the PM’s statement, it was blown out of proportion. When I was in the BJP, there was no ED, nor was Harak Singh anti-religion. BJP leaders need to introspect before throwing mud at others.
