India’s Congress Party’s Rahul Gandhi ordered to apologize or face trial for RSS Remarks

SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — India’s Supreme Court has asked Rahul Gandhi to apologize or face trial and questioned the Congress vice-president’s “collective denunciation” of the RSS after he accused the organization of killing Mahatma Gandhi during a speech two years ago.

In reaction to the Court’s remarks, Congress said that Rahul had already “challenged the constitutionality” of the section under which he had been chargedand that “there is no question” of him apologizing or expressing regret.

Manmohan Vaidya, senior functionary of the RSS, said Congress had been “consistently trying to spread lies and baseless allegations” about the Sangh and that the Supreme Court ruling has “exposed” the party.

Tuesday, during a hearing of criminal defamation filed by an RSS member against the Congress leader for the aforementioned remarks, Justices Dipak Misra and Rohinton F. Nariman told Rahul’s counsel Harin P. Raval: “Why did you make a sweeping statement against the RSS, painting everyone associated with the organization in the same brush?”

It said: “Why he (Rahul) made a speech quoting wrong historical fact…What we have to see is whether the petitioner’s allegations come under Section 499 (defamation) of IPC or not. Our judgment upholding its validity is already there. You will have to face trial if you don’t express regret.”

In March 2014, during an address to an election rally in Thane’s Bhiwandi, Rahul had said: “RSS people killed Gandhiji and today their people talk of him…They opposed Sardar Patel and Gandhiji.”

Gandhi’s attorney defended the speech by saying whatever had been said was done so on the basis of government records. His lawyer added that Rahul’s statement had further relied on the decision of Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding Nathuram Godse’s association with the RSS.

However, the Supreme Court, after perusing the High Court judgment, retorted that it only said that Godse was an RSS worker. “To say Godse killed Gandhi is one thing but to say RSS killed Gandhi is different…you have gone way ahead in making the statement…you cannot make collective denunciation,” said the bench.

In response to Raval’s defense, the Court said freedom of speech is not crippled by upholding the validity of the criminal defamation law, but it had to be ensured that there is not anarchy.

“We have upheld the defamation law. The purpose of the law is to obey law so that there is harmony rather than anarchy…your freedom is not crippled or cut. Everyday, a writer, a politician will say something and you must have great magnitude to swallow. The purpose of the law is not to turn people into litigants. Purpose of law is that people obey law. Peace and harmony should prevail rather than chaos,” the bench said.

The Court also asked Raval to show how Rahul’s statement served the public any good, adding that it was not a matter of trial since his act was immune under the law on criminal defamation.

“History is the greatest enemy of privacy. Over the years, attempts have been made to enter the lives of historically eminent personalities to give a new dimension…criticism of government is one thing and criticism of a historical figure is another thing. Your statement has to meet the test of public good,” the Court said.

Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said his party will not comment on “any remark made or any exchange between the counsel and the Judge… as we hold the Supreme Court in high regard.”

But he ruled out any apology or expression of regret, saying that such a suggestion “has been made in the past and Gandhi had rejected it.”

“Gandhi is a seasoned and mature politician with intricate understanding of history. And Congress party and Gandhi stand by the remark,” he said.

“Rahul Gandhi had challenged the constitutionality of section 499/500 of IPC as also the order of the High Court in Maharashtra. A Special Leave Petition challenging the order of the High Court is pending before Supreme Court and has been merely adjourned for July 23 without passing any order,” said Surjewala.

RSS’s Vaidya, meanwhile, accused the Congress of trying to “avoid the trial and repeat the same, false allegations against RSS.”

“It seems he does not have faith in India’s legal system nor any respect for it,” he said.

RSS ideologue Rakesh Sinha tweeted that the “court’s observation on Rahul Gandhi on his allegation on RSS is a slap on his face, exposes dynasty’s politics of lies”.

“For generations, the Nehru-Gandhi family has been spreading lies about RSS by linking it with the killing of Gandhi,” he said, adding that “Rahul Gandhi must now apologise to the nation and the RSS.”