Rahul Gandhi to face court trial in RSS defamation case

Kunte had said that Rahul, in his election speech at Sonale in Maharashtra on March 6, 2015, had allegedly blamed the RSS for Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination.

Last week, Rahul had told the Supreme Court that he never blamed the RSS for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi but had only said that a “few individuals in the organisation” were responsible for it.

At this juncture, Sibal told the court that he is not pressing for the petition for quashing the defamation case. “RSS ke logon ne goli mari”.

When the matter came up before the bench, the counsel appearing for an RSS functionary who has filed the complaint, said he had instruction that the matter can be put to an end if Gandhi gave another clarificatory statement that he never meant to say that RSS was behind the assassination. I will not add or subtract a word to what I have said. “Prime Minister Modi only makes tall promises in India and creates false hopes overseas whereas the reality is for all to see”, the Congress leader said. “Needless to say, if any observation has been made by the high court while disposing of the writ petition, the same shall be confined to be stated for the goal of disposal of the writ petition and the trial magistrate shall proceed in accordance with law without being influenced by any of the observations made by the high court”.

Surjewala also recalled that Gopal Godse, who was a co-accused along with Nathuram Godse in the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, has written a book “Gandhi Vadh aur Main” and he has clearly stated that RSS was “second home” to all the three brothers. “He never accused RSSA as an institution of the crime”.

Counsel for Mr. Kunte U.R. Lalit said, “You [Rahul Gandhi] have done it repeatedly”. With UP, Punjab and other crucial assembly elections around the corner, Congress felt such a battle could push the BJP on the back foot by raising the issue of who is a true Indian – the one that killed Mahatma Gandhi or the ones glorifying his killer.

The matter came up today before a bench of Dipak Misra and Rohinton Nariman JJ. “It seems he is saying one thing inside the court for the convenience of the litigation and something else outside”.

BJP National Secretary Srikant Sharma alleged that Rahul Gandhi is attacking the RSS for vote-bank politics as there are elections in Uttar Pradesh. Nobody is interested in Nathu Ram Godse.

Gandhi’s statement today comes as a u-turn from what he told the apex court a few days ago.

Sibal countered Lalit and said: “Don’t make a political statement”.