A case was registered against five people, reportedly RSS-BJP workers, on Thursday for raising slogans against Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, demanding that he retract his statement against the saffron outfit. The case was registered under Sections 189(2), 191(2), 190, and 126(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on charges of unlawful assembly, rioting, and wrongful restraint, police said. “An investigation is underway, and no arrests have been made so far,†an official said. According to police, a small group of people, allegedly linked to the Sangh Parivar, raised slogans against Gandhi at the end of a function he attended at nearby Neyyattinkara on Wednesday evening. Visuals aired by TV channels showed a group of men raising slogans against Gandhi, urging him to withdraw his statement. Earlier, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan strongly condemned the alleged “Sangh Parivar attack†on Gandhi stating that actions that suppress freedom of expression cannot be allowed in a democratic society. Gandhi had arrived in Neyyatinkara to unveil the statue of the late Gandhian, P Gopinathan Nair.
In his speech, Gandhi had said both the UDF and LDF, which have had a long history of fighting each other in the state, need to realise that another very dangerous and insidious enemy has entered Kerala the RSS and BJP. “The BJP we would be able to defeat, but the RSS is poison. And we have to be very cautious about it because if it spreads in the circulation system of our country, then all is lost,†he said.
Tension gripped the area as BJP-RSS workers shouted slogans and blocked Gandhi’s car. The protesters said the municipal ward was represented by the BJP and that Gandhi should withdraw his remarks against RSS.
However, Tushar Gandhi left after raising the slogan “Gandhiji ki Jai,†affirming that his stance remained unchanged. Meanwhile, Gandhi said he would not initiate any legal action against the RSS-BJP workers.
“There was no physical assault. They stopped only my vehicle, and I will not take any action,†he told a TV channel on Thursday. The Congress has rallied behind Gandhi, extending support to him on the issue. Speaking to reporters in Kochi, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan alleged that the protest against Tushar Gandhi was an insult to Mahatma Gandhi and condemned it as a “deplorable act†of fascism.
