Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi hours after he said that Sam Pitroda should be “ashamed” of his comment on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Stinging the Congress president, the prime minister said that “naamdaar (dynast) should be ashamed of himself rather than reprimanding his mentor for his remarks.”

“You pretended to scold your mentor for what? Because he publicly said what had always been in Congress’s heart? It’s you who should be ashamed,” PM Modi said at an election rally in Punjab’s Bhatinda, from where union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal is seeking re-election.

“Congress is struggling to win 50 seats because the Congress leader is confused and their thinking is diffused,” the prime minister said, adding that the opposition party’s arrogance was at its peak.

Earlier today Rahul Gandhi had said, “What Sam Pitroda said about 1984 is absolutely wrong and he should apologise to the nation for it. I told this to him over the phone, I told him what he said was wrong, he should be ashamed and apologise publicly.”

Last week, asked to comment on the 1984 Sikh riots, Pitroda had said, “hua to hua (what happened, happened)”. On Friday, Pitroda, who is the chief of the Indian Overseas Congress, apologised for the comment, but not before it triggered a barrage of criticism, including by his colleagues and the BJP leaders.

Senior leaders of the Congress distanced themselves from Pitroda’s remarks .

While apologising, Pitroda had said his comment had been blown out of proportion. “My Hindi is not that good, I think in English and translate in Hindi... I could not translate bura in my mind... what I really meant to say is jo hua bura hua tha (what happened was bad),” he said.

The 1984 riots took place at the end of October-early November when mobs, some allegedly including members of the Congress party, killed members of the Sikh community in retaliation for Indira Gandhi’s assassination.

First Published: May 13, 2019 19:55 IST