Jharsuguda: A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, in Odisha for allegedly making anti-national statements which “hurt each and every Indian national.”
The case was registered at the Jharsuguda Town police station in Odisha under Sections 152 and 197(1)(d) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Sources said the FIR was registered based on a complaint submitted by members of BJP, BJP Yuva Morcha, RSS, Bajrang Dal and BJP Legal Cell of Jharsuguda district to IG of Police Himanshu Kumar Lal on February 5. The complainants alleged that Rahul Gandhi crossed all limits of free speech and was vindictively targeted to hurt India’s sovereignty and integrity. The Congress leader deliberately made anti-national statements which hurt each and every Indian individual, they alleged.
“The statement of Rahul Gandhi has crossed the limits of freedom of speech. By declaring his fight against Indian State itself, he has consciously incited subversive activities and rebellion among populace. The activities have undermined the sovereignty and integrity of India,” the FIR stated.
Following the complaint, the police have initiated an investigation.
Rahul Gandhi made the statement on January 15, 2025, during the inauguration of the Congress Party’s new headquarters at Kotla Road in Delhi.
Rahul Gandhi was quoted to have said, “Our ideology, like the RSS ideology, is thousands of years old and it has been fighting the RSS ideology for thousands of years. Do not think that we are fighting a fair fight. There is no fairness in this. If you believe that we are fighting a political organisation called the BJP or RSS, you have not understood what is going on. The BJP and the RSS have captured every single institution of our country. We are now fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian State itself.”