Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, faces legal trouble for his recent remarks about the “Indian State.”
An FIR has been filed against him at Pan Bazar Police Station in Guwahati, Assam under Sections 152 and 197(1)d of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for “acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.”
Similarly, a complaint has been filed against the Congress leader in Bihar’s Samastipur.
The Congress MP, while speaking at the inauguration of the party’s new headquarters in the national capital on January 15, raised questions about the transparency in the electoral process, referring to the Delhi assembly elections and said, “We are now fighting the BJP, the RSS, and the Indian State itself.”
Media reports on Sunday said that the complainant in Assam, Monjit Chetia, has accused Rahul Gandhi of violating the limits of permissible free speech and posing a serious threat to public order and national security.
“By declaring that his fight is against the ‘Indian state itself,’ the accused has consciously incited subversive activities and rebellion among the populace. This is an attempt to delegitimise the authority of the state and to portray it as a hostile force, thereby creating a dangerous narrative that could provoke unrest and separatist sentiments,” Chetia said in his complaint.
Chetia’s complainant said that Gandhi’s “capture of the institution” statement was against the “sovereignty of India.”
Rahul Gandhi’s remarks came in response to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s assertion that “the date of the Ram Temple consecration in Ayodhya should be celebrated as the true Independence of India.” Gandhi stated: “The BJP and RSS have captured every single institution, and we are now fighting the BJP, the RSS, and the Indian State itself.”
In his complaint, Chetia wrote that the statement “made in a public forum by a person who is presently holding the position of Leader of the Opposition is not an ordinary political remark… It represents a direct challenge to the integrity and stability of India, warranting immediate legal action.”
The BJP has jumped on these remarks by Rahul Gandhi for referring to a “fight” with the Indian state, with BJP national president JP Nadda accusing him of working “in the direction of breaking India and dividing our society.”
The complainant in Bihar’s Samastipur, Mukesh Kumar Chaudhary, alleged that the statement made by Gandhi hurt his feelings, brought him “mental agony,” and in panic, a bucket full of milk fell from his hand; thereby he suffered a financial loss of Rs 250.
The plea has been filed at Rosera Civil Court in Samastipur, asking it to take action against Gandhi for his alleged remarks that “his fight is with the BJP, RSS, and the Indian State.”