Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday broke his silence on the flak he received from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over his remarks on Sikhs during his recent visit to the United States.

While interacting with students and members of the Indian diaspora in the US earlier this month, Rahul Gandhi had talked about Sikh rights, which had led to strong criticism by the BJP.

Rahul Gandhi defended his comments made in the US about Sikhs, accusing the BJP of lying to silence him. He stressed that all Indians should freely practice their religion. The BJP urged him to retract his statement,

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday defended his remarks on Sikhs and other sections of the Indian society made during his visit to the United States earlier this month. Accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “spreading lies” over his comments, he said attempts are being made to silence him.

The BJP has filed several complaints against Rahul Gandhi for his comments on reservation policies, claiming they threaten national unity. In a separate incident, Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu faced an FIR for his response to Gandhi's remarks,

The Congress on Wednesday filed police complaints against Bittu, two other BJP leaders and a Shinde Sena MLA for issuing threats to the Leader of the Opposition

Ravneet Bittu criticised Rahul Gandhi for his comments made during a visit to the USA. He said Rahul Gandhi is not an Indian as he has spent most of his time outside. He doesn't love his country much because he goes abroad and says everything in the wrong way.

Rahul Gandhi, in a conversation during his recent visit to US, said India could think of scrapping the reservation system only if it becomes a “fair place.