Supporters of the Congress party who insisted that heir-apparent Rahul Gandhi should play a much more active role in the party’s politics would probably be regretting their words now. In the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, an aggressive Rahul had made some rather controversial statements. In one of his rallies, Rahul had said that people from RSS had killed Mahatma Gandhi. In the video below one can clearly see and hear him saying the same:
Nathuram Godse had left the RSS in early 1930s, almost 18 years before he shot Gandhi. The Justice Kapur Commission of Inquiry came to the conclusion that the RSS had nothing to do with the murder. Yet Rahul Gandhi chose to parrot this line.
As a consequence, RSS decided to sue Rahul for his defamatory comment. During the trial, the Supreme Court even rebuked Rahul Gandhi saying to him: “You can’t make collective denunciations” and made him face trial. In turn Congress social media warriors backed Rahul’s statement and publicised it.
https://twitter.com/abhishekINC/status/755372898844639232
https://twitter.com/Shehzad_Ind/status/763370676766015488
https://twitter.com/NewsX/status/755426713673175041
https://twitter.com/tehseenp/status/758182017066409984
Now, during the trial, Rahul Gandhi seems to have made a U Turn. Rahul Gandhi today told the Supreme Court that he did not blame the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on the RSS or the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. He further said his remark had been misinterpreted by the RSS worker who filed the initial complaint against him. He had last month refused to apologise and settle the case.
It remains to be seen how this case progresses. For now at least, Rahul Gandhi has served egg on the face of his own supporters.