A defamation complaint has been filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly describing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) organizations as ‘Kauravas of the 21st century’, reports emerged on Saturday.
The complaint has been filed by RSS worker in Haridwar court under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for making indecent remarks against the organisation.
Notably on January 9, Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Haryana alleged “Kauravas of the 21st century wear Khakhi half-pants and run ‘shakhas’. Besides them stand two to three richest people of the country.”
Judge Shiv Singh, who is hearing the case, asked the plaintiff to appear for an advance hearing on April 12, 2023.
The RSS worker’s lawyer was quoted by ANI saying, “Rahul Gandhi compared the RSS to the Kauravas of the 21st century. It is his indecent speech which reveals his mindset. RSS is such an organization that whenever there has been a calamity in the country, it has come forward to help.”
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction in the criminal defamation case over his 'Modi surname' remark, on March 23.
A Surat court convicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and sentenced him to two years of imprisonment in a 2019 defamation case that had been filed against him over his alleged derogatory remarks on the “Modi surname”. The court granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.
In the build-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha general elections, Gandhi had allegedly remarked, “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” during a public rally at Kolar in Karnataka. Based on it, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi had lodged a complaint against the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi.
