Chandigarh, Oct. 25 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday lashed out at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for planning a protest rally in Delhi on November 1, saying the date is sensitive for the Sikh community The INDIA bloc, led by Gandhi, has scheduled a large rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on November 1 to protest against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. According to the BJP, November 1 is linked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that erupted in Delhi and several other cities following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31. Punjab BJP state president Kewal Singh Dhillon described the move as deeply insensitive and hurtful to the sentiments of the Sikh community. Addressing the media in Ludhiana, Dhillon said November 1 was no ordinary date for Sikhs but a day of mourning and remembrance. "Thousands of Sikhs lost their lives in Delhi and other parts of the country, leaving behind grieving mothers, widows and families whose suffering continues to this day," he said. BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad claimed many of the INDIA bloc constituents were not convinced with the Congress' plan to hold the rally on November 1 and wanted the programme to be rescheduled. "But Rahul Gandhi is adamant and not ready to listen to anybody. In a very calculated manner, Rahul Gandhi is trying to rub salt into the wounded sentiments of the Sikhs," he charged during a press conference at the party headquarters in Delhi. "Rahul Gandhi has an anarchist and Maoist mindset. Why does he want to create chaos on November 1? This is condemnable," Prasad said. He also criticised Gandhi for allegedly encircling the Supreme Court during protests earlier this month, which he called highly condemnable. Prasad called the decision to go ahead with the rally "childish stubbornness" and said it showed Gandhi's "true face". "If he wants to disrespect Sikhs, he will do so," he said. Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini questioned why the Congress had chosen the very day associated with one of the most painful memories of the Sikh community. "Will the Congress set up a stage and raise political slogans on a day when the Sikh community bows its head in remembrance of its martyrs?" chief minister said. Saini said if it was a coincidence, the Congress should state so openly and demonstrate sensitivity towards the sentiments of the Sikh community. "If it is not a coincidence, the matter becomes even more serious. In either case, the Congress is accountable," he said. "If an attempt is made to overshadow those memories with political slogans and noise on that day, questions are bound to arise. Our concern for the victims of 1984 is not a matter of politics, but of compassion and duty. Standing with the victims is not a favour; it is our moral responsibility," he added....