India angry over Jay Leno's Golden Temple jibe

Jan 23, 2012, 13:36 GMT

New Delhi - India has denounced a comment by US comedian Jay Leno about the Golden Temple - the holiest Sikh shrine, according to media reports on Monday.

Leno's The Tonight Show on Thursday showed the temple as the summer home of multi-millionaire Mitt Romney, a Republican party presidential hopeful.

Sikhs are angry that the temple, located in the northern city of Amritsar, has been depicted as a place for the rich.

Romney, who served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003-07, has spent most of his life in business and is under the tax scanner over his massive wealth.

The Indian embassy in Washington is to formally raise the issue with the US State Department, broadcaster NDTV reported, quoting Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi.

'It is quite unfortunate and quite objectionable that such a comment has been made after showing the Golden Temple,' said Ravi, who is visiting the United States.

The joke about Sikhism's holiest shrine also angered the Sikh community in the US, which accuses Leno of making derogatory comments about Sikhs in the past.

They have launched an online petition calling for an end to his 'racist comments' and also protested by calling the NBC television studios, reported Indian news channel Headlines Today. Neither NBC nor Jay Leno has so far commented on the issue.

The petition says that the sentiments of Sikhs cannot be hurt and used to further TV ratings.

'The right to speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution excludes defamation and spreading hate, incitement and false advertising,' the petition said.

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