In a tweet remembering the former Prime Minister, West Bengal Congress posted Gandhi’s most infamous statement he gave after the assassination of his mother Indira Gandhi.
Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as Prime Minister after his mother's death and, when speaking about the deadly anti-Sikh riots, said "For some days people had thought that India was shaking. But whenever a big tree falls the ground shakes a little,"
The audience had then roared in approval and applauded his statement which appeared to have justified the riots.
Realizing the repercussions of the controversial tweet, West Bengal Congress deleted the tweet within a few minutes but by then the damage had already been done.
BJP leader Nalin Kohli lambasted the Congress alleging that they are justifying the riots with the tweet that was posted.
Akali leader S. Valtoha also hit out at the party saying, “This is the thinking of the entire Congress party. They have always been against Sikhs and proved by attacking the Golden Temple. We will never forgive and forget them,”
Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Congress, however, defended the former Prime Minister saying that the statement was not a justification of the riots."BJP is again trying to take political mileage of it.”
The tweet has embarrassed the Congress party at a time when the party is trying to make resurgence in Punjab where assembly polls are to be held next year.