Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Sunday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah over a BJP spokesperson’s controversial remarks targeting Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi during a televised debate.
In his letter on Sunday, Venugopal said a failure to act against the BJP panelist swiftly will be judged as complicity and normalisation of violence against Gandhi.
Venugopal said a “chilling and heinous” death threat to Rahul Gandhi by Printu Mahadev, a BJP spokesperson and former ABVP leader.
Appearing for the BJP on News18 Kerala channel, Mahadev said during a debate on the Ladakh violence that “Rahul Gandhi will be shot in the chest’’.
“In a brazen act of incitement of violence, Mr Mahadev openly declared that ‘Rahul Gandhi will be shot in the chest’. This is neither a slip of tongue, nor careless hyperbole. It is a cold, calculated and chilling death threat against the Leader of Opposition and one of India’s foremost political leaders,” said Venugopal.
“That such poisonous words are uttered by an official spokesperson of the ruling party not only places the life of Rahul Gandhi in immediate danger, but also undermines the Constitution, rule of law, and the basic security assurances owed to every citizen – let alone the Leader of Opposition,” the Congress general secretary in-charge organisation said.
The Congress MP said the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), entrusted with the security of Rahul Gandhi, has written multiple letters regarding threats to his safety.
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“Shockingly, one such letter addressed to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was leaked to the media under mysterious circumstances, raising serious questions about the intention behind doing so. Against this backdrop, it is not only alarming but utterly reprehensible that a spokesperson of the BJP felt emboldened enough to issue a naked and open death threat that carries the stench of a larger, sinister conspiracy being cultivated to validate violence against Rahul Gandhi,” Venugopal said.
Moreover, there have been multiple instances of death threats and calls for violence against Gandhi, propagated through various social media platforms backed or linked to the BJP, he alleged. “It is now your responsibility to clarify what your party and the government stands for. Do you openly endorse the politics of criminal intimidation, death threats and violence that are poisoning India’s public life,” Venugopal said.
