Kashmir as India-Occupied Kashmir

72nd birth anniversary

NEW DELHI: For the second time in three days, the Congress party has been embarrassed by its members.Earlier this week, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh referred toToday the West Bengal unit of the Congress decided to tweet a 'famous' quote from late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to remember him on histoday.Bengal's Congress members might have meant well, but that Rajiv quote didn't go down well - at all - with anyone, likely not even the Congress top brass. The Congress's Bengal members soon deleted the tweet but the damage was done.The quote in question was Rajiv's comment days after his mother Indira Gandhi, who was then Prime Minister, was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984."When a big tree falls, the earth shakes," Rajiv said, rather unfortunately, back then.It was unfortunate because of the context. Soon after Indira was assassinated, riots began against the Sikh community in Delhi, allegedly incited by several Congress leaders. More than 2,000 Sikhs are reported to have been massacred in these riots.Rajiv was sworn in to take over as PM after Indira was killed. When he was asked about the riots, he said. "When a big tree falls, the earth shakes."It isn't a stretch to understand why this comment was seen not just as insensitive, but also as unpardonable, at a time when innocent Sikhs were being killed.Many of the Congress leaders implicated in fomenting the riots are still under judicial scrutiny.