On 25 December last year, some leaders from Youth wing of Akali Dal had blackened the statue of Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Ludhiana to protest against the 1984 Sikh genocide. The protests were triggered by the conviction of veteran Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, for his involvement in the 1984 Sikh genocide. Later, a former Congress leader Gursimran Singh Mand had shared a video, in which he was seen cleaning the statue with his own Dastar (turban).
The video had gone viral and had invited widespread outrage from the Sikh community as the turban is a very important part of the Sikh belief and represents the Sikh pride.
Now, according to reports, Mand has sought an apology for this act and has claimed that he never meant to hurt the sentiments of Sikh religion. The leader has said to the Sikh community that the move was taken in haste and expressed hope that Sikhs in Indian and across the world will accept his apology.
The act was seen as a move to appease the top leadership, to induct the expelled leader back. Mand was expelled from Congress party in 2014 from the primary membership of the party including five others for alleged anti-party activities. Since the last few months, he has reportedly been trying hard to gain the confidence of top leadership.
Congress’s veteran leader Sajjan Kumar was awarded life imprisonment by Delhi High Court and asked to surrender by 31st December. Many BJP and Akali Dal leaders had also launched attacks on Congress after party declared that Kamal Nath, another accused in the Sikh genocide, will be appointed CM of Madhya Pradesh.