Under Section 499 and Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, a defamation complaint has been lodged against Rahul Gandhi by an RSS worker named Kamal Bhadauriya in the Haridwar Court.
This complaint has been filed over the remark made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Haryana in January 2023. He has addressed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as “Kauravas of the 21st century.”
Kamal Bhadauriya believes that by making such a remark, Rahul Gandhi has not only insulted RSS members but also Pujaris, thereby insulting the feelings of all Indians. Advocate Arun Bhadauria, the representative of Kamal Bhadauriya has registered the case in the Court.
The controversial statement made by Rahul Gandhi about RSS is “Kauravas of the 21st century wear Khakhi half-pants and run shakhas. Besides them stand two to three richest people of the country”. He further stated, “Did Pandavas implement demonetization, wrong GST, farmers bill? No, they did not because they were tapasvis, and they knew that demonetization, wrong GST, farmers bill are methods of stealing”. “There were five on one side, and there was the Sangathan on the other side,”
The complainant commented that RSS is an organization that has always stood strong in tough times in India and has made huge contributions. One of the contributions is fighting a country like Pakistan when needed. The complainant further stated: “You (referred to Gandhi) are fully aware of what a heinous act the Kauravas have done, yet you called the hardworking, hardworking, dedicated, and self-sacrificing Sangh like RSS as Kauravas and also said that these people do not say, Har Har Mahadev, Don’t say, Jai Shri Ram which shows your disgusting mentality,”
Likewise, it has been put forward in the complaint that Gandhi commented that India does not belong to Pujaris but to Tapasvis. By such a statement he has tried to divide Sanatanis into Tapasvis and Pujaris, in turn hurting the sentiments of all Indians.
The Court will take up the hearing of this matter on 12 April 2023. RaGa has been asked by Judge Shiv Singh to be present for the hearing on the above-mentioned date.
On March 23, 2023, Gandhi had already been convicted by a court in Surat in Gujarat in a defamation case which has been the reason for his disqualification as an MP of Lok Sabha.
Written by Sonakshi Misra, 2nd year (4th semester) B.A.LL.B. Hons. student at Atal Bihari Vajpayee School of Legal Studies, Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur.
