[City, Location of Protest]—A political storm has erupted after Congress MP Imran Masood was accused of comparing Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh to the militant group Hamas, prompting a street protest by the collective Punjabi Mahasangh on Sunday.
The controversy stems from Masood’s remarks on a Friday television appearance, where he allegedly stated that members of Hamas were “just like Bhagat Singh, who sacrificed his life for the struggle for freedom.”
In response, members of the Punjabi Mahasangh gathered at Bhagat Singh Chowk, wearing black bands and raising slogans against the Congress leader. Yogesh Dua, president of the Mahasangh, sharply criticized the analogy. “Hamas is an organisation that has killed innocent people and claims to be fighting for freedom. Bhagat Singh never killed anyone, and even if he threw a bomb, he did so symbolically to send a message to the British,” Dua stated, calling Hamas a “terrorist organisation.”
The Mahasangh demanded that Masood publicly apologize by offering flowers at a statue of the revered freedom fighter.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) quickly seized on the remarks, with IT cell head Amit Malviya accusing Masood of a “well-planned strategy” to create strife ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly election. Malviya called the comparison “an insult to the people of Bihar,” citing the state’s historical connection to Bhagat Singh’s revolutionary ideology.
Facing the backlash, Masood issued a clarification to PTI, asserting that he never intended to draw a direct comparison. “Bhagat Singh cannot be compared with Hamas; no one can be, as the two are not the same,” he stated, adding that Shaheed-E-Azam (Bhagat Singh) cannot be compared to anyone. He alleged that the BJP was attempting to stoke political strife by deliberately distorting his comments.
“The BJP people are selectively spreading this falsehood,” Masood said, clarifying his original intent: “I only said that Hamas is fighting for their land, just as Bhagat Singh fought for ours.”