Rahul Gandhi vows to fight RSS in court
India's opposition leader Rahul Gandhi pleaded not guilty yesterday to defaming a powerful Hindu supremacist group closely linked to the ruling party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Gandhi will fight charges in court that he defamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) organisation when he accused the Hindu movement of assassinating Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi.
A former RSS member, Nathuram Godse, shot dead Mahatma Gandhi in 1948. The Hindu radical was tried in a court and hanged in 1949.
Gandhi, who will square off against Modi in a general election within a year, vowed to battle not only the charges but the Hindu nationalist movement behind the defamation case.
"My battle is ideological, and I will fight and win," Gandhi told reporters outside the courtroom in Maharashtra state. If found guilty Gandhi could face up to two years in prison.
But the RSS -- which was briefly banned after Gandhi's assassination -- has always distanced itself from the killing. Founded in 1925, the RSS today boasts six million active members. Most of the BJP's leaders, including Modi, have a long history as members of the volunteer movement.
Comments