Ready to Face Trial For Saying RSS Men Killed Gandhi: Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi had accused RSS men of assassinating Mahatma Gandhi in a pre-election speech in 2014.

Rahul Gandhi accused RSS of assassinating Mahatma Gandhi. (Photo: PTI)

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi told the Supreme Court on Thursday that he is ready to be tried on charges of accusing Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) men of killing Mahatma Gandhi.

Rahul’s counsel Kapil Sibal told the Supreme Court that he stands by his statement. Gandhi also withdrew his plea from the apex court for quashing of the case, saying he will face trial in lower court.

Sibal added that the fight is about determining who a “true Hindu is.”

Ye ladayi adaalat ki nahin hai, iss ladayi mein yeh faisla hoga ki asli Hindu kaun hai (This is not a fight of the court. This fight will decide who is a true Hindu).

RSS’ Inder Kumar reacted to Gandhi’s decision and said:

“Rahul Gandhi and Kapil Sibal got indication that SC is going to reject their petition and send case back to lower court. If they actually had courage to fight the defamation case then they would have from the start,” he said. 

BJP also immediately lashed out at Gandhi:

Rahul Gandhi is not able to clear his stand on his RSS comment, he says something one day, another thing another day.

BJP’s Kiren Rijiju too jumped into the boat of attacking Gandhi and said:

RSS is the most patriotic organisation ever seen in India. How can anyone make such allegations? It’s bizarre .Everybody can see through the game that is being played, they want to make it political.

Congress retaliated saying that the Congress leader has always stood by his statements, “be it in the past or be it today, and he will in the future.”

Gandhi had said “RSS ke logon ne Gandhiji ko goli mari (RSS people killed Mahatma Gandhi)” in a pre-polls speech in 2014.

The comments had obviously drawn anger and flak from the RSS, who had demanded an apology from Gandhi for the same.

Gandhi’s “U-Turn”

Gandhi’s statement on Thursday comes a few days after he told the Supreme Court that he did not mean to defame the entire organisation, but only the “people associated with it” for the shooting of Gandhi. He had claimed that his comments had been misinterpreted.

His remarks had triggered a host of reactions, criticising him for his “apparent U-turn”. Only a few days after this, he had asserted that he stands by every word he said, condemning the “fighting the hateful & divisive agenda” of the RSS.

RSS ideologue MG Vaidya had reacted to Gandhi’s flip-flop and said:

If he now says the RSS was not involved, but the people who were involved in Gandhi’s murder were RSS-affiliate, then he must come clean on his statement that in what sense they were associated with the RSS and what was their position and credential in the organisation.

Congress, however, stood by him and said that his statement is not a u-turn in any way.

No U-turn by Rahul Gandhi on RSS. He stands by what he said. Person who killed was from RSS. It is the ideology of hate and violence which killed Mahatma Gandhi.

Digvijaya Singh, Congress General Secretary

Congress had also wondered why RSS did not file defamation cases against any other person, including Gopal, the brother of Nathuram Godse, who had insisted that all the four brothers including the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, were in the RSS.

(With inputs froom ANI and The Indian Express.)