New Delhi: The Prime Minister capitalising on his campaign in Haryana and Punjab on Sam Pitroda's careless statement normalising the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom, hit out at the Congress at his rally in Rohtak. "One of Congress's biggest leaders said, 1984 Sikh riots' Hua to Hua' (So what if it has happened?). Do you know who this leader is? He is the Gandhi family’s closest friend, he is Rajiv Gandhi's friend, he is Congress's naamdar chief's (Rahul Gandhi) guru," Modi said. 

The Prime Minister didn't stop at that. He went on to give graphic descriptions of the genocide perpetrated on Sikhs in 1984, using the "Hua to Hua" refrain.

Why is the timing significant?

Just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi and Punjab, where there is a significant Sikh population, Modi has quietly but smartly shifted the narrative by leading the attack on former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi over corruption, his INS Virat' holiday' and now the 1984 Sikh riots that unfolded on the streets on Delhi. Sam Pitroda, has only given more ammo to the ruling BJP by shockingly justifying the massacre and saying "So what if it happened?". 

The election for the seven seats in Delhi will happen on May 12, and in the last phase on May 19, Punjab will go to polls which has 13 seats of its own to offer. After Congress leader Sajjan Kumar was awarded a life sentence in a riot case last year and is still in jail, the timing of Pitroda's 'Hua to Hua' and the exploitation of the phrase by Modi in his own animated yet emotional style, couldn't have been more wrong for the Congress party.

Other NDA allies also joined in

Meanwhile, BJP ally and Shiromani Akali Dal leader and Union minister of food processing and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal didn't let go of the opportunity. She tweeted, "Gandhi family's blue-eyed boy and Rajiv crony Sam Pitroda has admitted his boss orchestrated the 1984 Sikhs Genocide with his statement justifying the anti-human act by saying "so what it happened". It's a painful day for the Sikh community. Gandhi family still unrepentant."

Earlier, BJP president Amit Shah started the assault by tweeting the video of Pitroda where he is seen making the controversial statement. Shah said, "Agony of the entire Sikh community. The suffering of all those Sikh families killed by Congress leaders in 1984. Attack on Delhi's secular ethos. All summed up in these three words by Sam Pitroda - Hua to Hua."