New Delhi: Congress and BJP engaged in a war of words on Tuesday over the recent incidents of lynching in Punjab.
Taking a dig at the BJP government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Before 2014, the word 'lynching' was practically unheard of. #ThankYouModiJi."
The remarks came amid a political furore in Punjab over two people being lynched after being accused of sacrilege in separate incidents.
The BJP was quick to pounce on the remark and called former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi the "father of mob lynching" by raking up the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
"The biggest example of 'lynching' is the incidents that took place in 1984, after the death of former PM Indira Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi's reply to a media question today over 'lynching', reminds us of the era of Emergency," said Union Minister Anurag Thakur.
Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey told reporters that hundreds of Sikhs were slain in the 1984 riots, which were blamed on some Congress leaders. Choubey also referred to the 1989 Bhagalpur riots to ask if these were not lynchings.
"Mobs killed Sikhs by burning tyres around their neck. Wasn't it lynching?" he was quoted by PTI in its report.
'Meet Rajiv Gandhi, Father Of Mob Lynching': Amit Malviya
While posting a short clip of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's speech, BJP leader Amit Malviya tweeted, "Meet Rajiv Gandhi, father of mob lynching, justifying blood-curdling genocide of Sikhs. Congress took to streets, raised slogans like 'khoon ka badla khoon se lenge', raped women, wrapped burning tyres around necks of Sikh men while dogs gorged on charred bodies dumped in drains."
Rajiv Gandhi's remarks that the Earth shakes when a big tree falls were seen by critics to be justifying the anti-Sikh violence following the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
Malviya also posted about various riots that happened under Congress rule between 1969 and 1993 to take a swipe at Rahul Gandhi.