Venugopal writes to Shah flagging ex-ABVP leader's 'threat' to Rahul

New Delhi: Congress general secretary K C Venugopal on Sunday wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah over a former ABVP leader's controversial remarks targeting Rahul Gandhi during a televised debate, saying a failure to act against him swiftly will be judged as complicity and normalisation of violence against the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha.

In the letter, Venugopal flagged what he termed a "chilling and heinous" death threat to Rahul Gandhi by Printu Mahadev, a former state president of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS.

Venugopal claimed Mahadev is a spokesperson of the BJP and made the remarks during a televised debate on a Malayalam channel.

"In a brazen act of incitement of violence, Mr Mahadev openly declared that 'Rahul Gandhi will be shot in the chest'. This is neither a slip of tongue, nor careless hyperbole. It is a cold, calculated and chilling death threat against the Leader of Opposition and one of India's foremost political leaders," Venugopal said.

"That such poisonous words are uttered by an official spokesperson of the ruling party not only places the life of Rahul Gandhi in immediate danger, but also undermines the Constitution, rule of law, and the basic security assurances owed to every citizen - let alone the Leader of Opposition," the Congress general secretary in-charge organisation said.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), entrusted with the security of Rahul Gandhi, has written multiple letters regarding threats to his safety, Venugopal said.

"Shockingly, one such letter addressed to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was leaked to the media under mysterious circumstances, raising serious questions about the intention behind doing so.

"Against this backdrop, it is not only alarming but utterly reprehensible that a spokesperson of the BJP felt emboldened enough to issue a naked and open death threat that carries the stench of a larger, sinister conspiracy being cultivated to validate violence against Rahul Gandhi," Venugopal said.

Moreover, there have been multiple instances of death threats and calls for violence against Rahul Gandhi propagated through various social media platforms backed or linked to the BJP, he alleged.

"It is now your responsibility to clarify what your party and the government stands for. Do you openly endorse the politics of criminal intimidation, death threats and violence that are poisoning India's public life," Venugopal asked.

The Congress and millions of Indians who look up to Rahul Gandhi as the defender of their rights are gravely concerned about the imminent danger to his life, he said.

"Rahul Gandhi is a living embodiment of service and steadfast commitment to India's pluralistic ethos. He carries forward the legacy of a family that has sacrificed immensely for this nation -- from Indira Gandhi, assassinated in 1984 while defending national unity, to Rajiv Gandhi, martyred in 1991 amid his efforts for peace and modernisation," he said.

A death threat against Rahul Gandhi is not merely an attack on an individual but an assault on the democratic spirit he represents, Venugopal added.

"This threat is not just a careless outburst of a petty functionary; it is symptomatic of a deliberately cultivated, toxic atmosphere of hate that renders the LoP vulnerable to mindless violence.

"As such, any failure by you to act swiftly, decisively and publicly will be judged as complicity -- a de facto licence for the legitimisation and normalisation of violence against the Leader of Opposition and a grave breach of your oath as the Union home minister," Venugopal said.

The nation demands immediate, exemplary legal action through the state police so that justice is swift, visible and severe, he said.

Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "This is not just a one off threat to the life of Rahul Gandhi. The letter written on Rahul Ji's security by the government to Kharge Ji and the deliberate leakage of its contents make it smack of conspiracy." By politicising the sensitive issue of security of a leader who has lost two members of his family to assassinations, this regime is playing with fire, he said.

Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, on Saturday criticised the state government and police for not acting against the leader who allegedly made the threat to Rahul Gandhi.