New Delhi [India], September 30 : The Indian Youth Congress on Tuesday condemned the alleged death threat to Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, saying that the "shameful utterance" reflected the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) "hate-filled politics".
"In a shocking and unprecedented development, a BJP Spokesperson on a live national television debate issued a direct death threat to Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Indian National Congress, by stating "Rahul Gandhi Should be shot in the chest". This shameful utterance reflects not only the BJP's descent into hate-filled politics but also its desperation against Rahul Gandhi unwavering fight against the divisive RSS-BJP ideology," the IYC said in a statement.
Reacting to the incident, national in-charge of IYC, Krishna Allavaru stated, "This is not just a threat to Rahul Gandhi, but to the very spirit of Indian democracy. It reflects how rattled the BJP has become by Rahul Ji's fearless fight for truth, justice, and the Constitution. Such language exposes the bankruptcy of their politics."
Uday Bhanu, National President of the Indian Youth Congress, said that the threat is not only a threat against the Congress leader but also threatens the "collective voice of crores of Indians."
"Rahul Gandhi is the voice of India's youth, farmers, workers, women, and the marginalised. To threaten him with death on live television is to threaten the collective voice of crores of Indians. Prime Minister Modi must answer: Does he endorse such gutter politics from his party representatives?" Bhanu said.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the IYC legal department, Roopesh Singh Bhadauria, said that they have sought a complaint against the BJP spokesperson but alleged that the Station House Officer refused to register one.
"We immediately sought to file a formal complaint against the BJP spokesperson at PS Tughlaq Road. Shockingly, the SHO, Umesh Malik, refused to accept the complaint, without citing any lawful ground," Bhadauria said.
"This refusal itself speaks volumes about the state of Delhi Police functioning under political pressure. Denying the citizens' fundamental right to register a complaint on such a grave issue of death threats to a national leader is a serious dereliction of duty. Left with no other recourse, we have escalated the matter by formally filing the complaint via email to the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, and other senior police officials. The law must take its course," he added.
The Indian Youth Congress's legal department said it will pursue every remedy available under the law.
"We are determined to escalate this fight across all legal forums, Pan-India. We will not allow such criminal intimidation to be normalised in Indian politics," the statement added.
The IYC has demanded immediate registration of an FIR, invocation of relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the BJP spokesperson, and exemplary action to ensure that such dangerous politics of intimidation and criminal threats are not normalised in public discourse.
Earlier, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal termed the threat to the LoP of the Lok Sabha as part of a "bigger conspiracy" and said he has yet to receive a response to the letter he wrote to the Home Ministry.
Venugopal said, "This is an open threat. I don't know why Kerala Police are taking no action. That is why we wrote a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah. CRPF is giving letters to Rahul Gandhi on security lapses, and they themselves are leaking information. Here, there is a clear-cut threat from a BJP spokesperson. We are all thinking this is part of a bigger conspiracy. I have not received any response from the Home Ministry."