BJP leader apologises over remarks about gurudwaras, says meant to say 'Masjid-Madrasa' instead

A major political row erupted in Rajasthan ahead of the Assembly election after a BJP leader's remarks on the religious places of two minority communities. BJP's Sandeep Dayma had reportedly made the comments at a rally which was also attended by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Tijara. Dayma later apologised for his remarks but it has failed to satisfy the Sikh community leaders.

Dayma, the former BJP candidate from Tijara in the 2018 Assembly election at a public meeting in the town earlier this week said that the Gurdwaras in the region had become “open sores”, which should be uprooted. He said the Alwar MP Baba Balak Nath, contesting the polls on BJP ticket in Tijara would complete the task.

“A large number of Gurdwaras have come up recently in the Tijara region. They are going to become a big problem in future… So it is our religious responsibility to uproot these open sores from here,” Dayma was heeard saying while campaigning for votes for the candidate Balak Nath. The BJP, if elected to power, would take care of such issues, he said in the presence of Yogi Adityanath.

Members of the Sikh community took offence to Dayma's remarks and held protest demonstrations in Tijara and Jaipur and demanded action against him. Tijara Returning Officer issued a notice to the BJP leaderand asked him to submit his reply.

Dayma later apologised on Thursday by releasing a video in which he said he wanted to refer to Masjid-Madrasa in his speech, but somehow said Gurdwara. “I don’t know how I committed this mistake. I cannot even think of disrespecting Sikhs, who are known to have protected Sanatan Dharma,” he said.