Senior Congress member and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asked the Sikh community whether there was anything wrong in what he had said during his recent visit to United States and if India shouldn’t be a country where every Indian could practise their religion without fear.

Rahul’s response came on a day when Union Minister Rajnath Singh attacked Rahul Gandhi, alleging that he “tarnished” India’s image abroad and tried to provoke the Sikh community. “Rahul Gandhi visited the US... He tried to provoke the Sikh community by saying that India is not safe for them. He is tarnishing the image and reputation of India in foreign countries,” Singh said at a rally in Jharkhand.

Accusing the BJP of spreading lies about his recent remarks in the US, the former Congress chief said the BJP was desperate to silence him because they could not stand the truth. “The BJP has been spreading lies about my remarks in America. I want to ask every Sikh brother and sister in India and abroad -- is there anything wrong in what I have said? Shouldn’t India be a country where every Sikh -- and every Indian -- can freely practice their religion without fear?” Rahul Gandhi said in a social media post.

“As usual, the BJP is resorting to lies. They are desperate to silence me because they cannot stand the truth. But I will always speak up for the values that define India: our unity in diversity, equality, and love,” he added.

Rahul also shared a short clip of his remarks in the US that shows him referring to a Sikh man. His remarks came after the BJP on Saturday cited a joint statement of several Sikh groups to ask him to withdraw his statement, which it alleged had created an atmosphere of fear in the country.

BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa told reporters several Sikh and Gurdwara management bodies had met Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai over the issue and that he told them the sacrifices of the Sikhs had made the country strong.

Addressing a gathering of Indian-Americans in Herndon, a Virginia suburb of Washington DC, Rahul Gandhi had said, “First of all, you have to understand what the fight is about. The fight is not about politics. That is superficial.”

During the course Rahul asked one of the Sikh attendees in the front rows to give his name. “What is your name, brother with the turban?” he had asked.

“The fight is about whether he, as a Sikh, is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or he, as a Sikh, is going to be allowed to wear a ‘kada’ in India. Or he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to a Gurdwara. That’s what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions,” the Congress leader had said.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said his party would launch an agitation against threats to Rahul Gandhi. He also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s failure to take action against BJP leaders who used derogatory remarks against Gandhi, the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

“BJP, RSS leaders, including MLAs and MPs, talk about chopping off the tongues of our leaders. Rahul Gandhi is under attack for speaking the truth and an atmosphere of hate is created against him like (it was done against his grandmother) Indira Gandhi,” Kharge said at a press conference in Ja