FIR filed against Rahul Gandhi for 'derogatory' remarks against Savarkar

The police in Thane city of Maharashtra have registered a case of defamation against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his derogatory remarks against freedom fighter V D Savarkar an official said on FridayThe first information report FIR against Gandhi was registered at Thane Nagar police station on Thursday he saidThe case was filed based on the complaint lodged by Vandana Dongre a functionary of the Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde The complainant alleged that Gandhi hurt the sentiments of citizens through his derogatory statements against Savarkar the official saidThe offence was registered under Indian Penal Code IPC sections 500 defamation and 501 printing or engraving matter knowing it to be defamatory he saidRahul Gandhi whose Bharat Jodo Yatra is currently passing through Maharashtra on Thursday held a press conference at Wadegaon in Akola district where he claimed that Savarkar helped the British rulers and wrote a mercy petition to them out of fear thereby betraying Mahatma Gandhi Sardar Patel Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders of the freedom struggleAlso Read Maharashtra Mahatma Gandhis great grandson joins Rahul in Bharat Jodo YatraTwo days prior to that Gandhi had addressed a rally in Washim district organised as part of his yatra where he called Savarkar a symbol of the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS He was jailed in Andaman for twothree years He started writing mercy petitions the Congress MP had said thereThe BJP and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena the faction led by Shinde have criticised Gandhi over the remarks The workers of these parties are holding protests against him Uddhav Thackeray whose faction of the Sena is in alliance with the Congress also disapproved of Gandhis statements against SavarkarRanjit Savarkar the late Hindutva ideologues grandson on Thursday lodged a complaint at Shivaji Park police station in Mumbai against Gandhi for allegedly insulting his grandfatherGandhi is already facing another defamation case in Thane district In 2014 an RSS worker had filed the case against Gandhi after watching his speech in Thanes Bhiwandi township where the Congress leader alleged that the RSS was behind the killing of Mahatma Gandhi The complainant claimed this statement slandered the reputation of the RSS In 2018 the court had framed charges against Gandhi in the case but he had pleaded not guiltyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever