Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday attacked Congress by saying that the '1984 Sikh riots' was the biggest example of lynching in the country.
His statement comes after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in his tweet earlier today claimed that lynching was unheard of before 2014, referring to the year when the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government came to power.
"The biggest example of 'lynching' is the incidents that took place in 1984 after the death of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi's reply to a media question today over 'lynching', reminds us of the era of Emergency," the minister said.
"Thousands of Sikhs were killed. Sikh mothers and daughters were physically assaulted. This is such an incident which cannot be forgotten," he added.
Rahul Gandhi in his tweet wrote: "Before 2014, the word 'lynching' was practically unheard of. #ThankYouModiJi"
"Rahul Gandhi often changes his statements. Don't take him seriously," Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said.
Rahul Gandhi's remarks came days after a man was beaten to death in an altercation by angry devotees after he allegedly attempted to commit sacrilege at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, earlier on December 18.
The incident took place during evening prayers when the man jumped over the metal railing around the Guru Granth Sahib and allegedly attempted to desecrate the Holy Book of the Sikhs with a sword.
Meanwhile, in another incident, an unidentified man was allegedly beaten to death by locals at Nizampur in Punjab's Kapurthala district on Sunday for allegedly disrespecting the 'Nishan Sahib' at the village Gurudwara.
( With inputs from ANI )
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