Congress files complaint against BJP leaders, allies: 'Open threats to eliminate, harm' Rahul Gandhi

The grand old party also objected to the Leader of the Opposition being referred to as 'number one terrorist'.

New Delhi: A day after party chief Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress on Wednesday filed a complaint against four BJP leaders, including union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, seeking action against them for their remarks allegedly threatening Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and calling him “number one terrorist”.

Congress Treasurer Ajay Maken filed the complaint at Tughlak Road Police Station seeking an FIR under sections 351 (criminal intimidation), 352 (intentional to insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 353 (statements conducing to public mischief) and criminal conspiracy of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita against the leaders.

Besides Bittu, others named in the complaint are Uttar Pradesh Minister Raghuraj Singh, former BJP MLA Tarvinder Singh Marwah and Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad.

On Tuesday, Kharge wrote to Modi asking him to rein in and discipline NDA leaders who made “extremely objectionable, violent and rude” statements targeting Rahul and urged him to take strict legal action against those giving such statements. Rahul was under BJP leaders’ attack over remarks on Sikhs he made during his recent visit to the United States.

While Bittu and Singh called Rahul “number one terrorist”, Gaikwad allegedly announced a bounty of Rs 11 lakh for anyone who will cut his tongue. Marwah allegedly said Rahul will meet the same fate as his grandmother Indira Gandhi, who was assassinated.

In his complaint, Maken claimed that by calling Rahul a terrorist, the BJP-NDA leaders were not only undermining the public office he holds but also deliberately seeking to “obstruct”  the Leader of Opposition from discharging his public duties like raising failures of the government and bringing to focus issues of marginalised sections.

The “intentional and well thought” acts were “deliberate attempts” by BJP/NDA leaders to “create enmity, breach of peace, incite aggression, hatred and ill-will” among the public against Rahul, the Congress and its leaders on the instructions of the ruling alliances’ top bosses.

Maken said the statements exhibited “personal hatred” of the BJP and alliance partners" and such utterances were made only with the “aim to cause unrest among the general masses to provoke rioting, breach of peace etc.”

He said the top Congress leader has been continuously raising issues pertaining to deprived sections of the society such as women, youth, Dalits and other marginalised sections and the failure of the BJP to address such public centric issues. 

“However, the same has not gone down well with the BJP and its allies, therefore the above-named persons have been deputed to make such hate-filled comments on the Leader of Opposition of India. Further, through the said events, the leaders of BJP/its allies, intend to jeopardise  the safety and security of the Leader of Opposition, as well as, seek to disturb public peace throughout the country, especially in view of the ongoing elections in states of Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana," he said.

He also said the accused also played an active role, through their associates, in spreading their statements among the public through social media and other means, in order to “deliberately incite public aggression/outage” against Rahul and supporters of the Congress.

“Hence, it is imperative that an FIR under relevant provisions of the BNS, 2023 be registered immediately, without any delay,” he added.