Rahul Gandhi on Sacred Games row: 'Fictional series cannot change facts; my father lived and died for India'

Days after Netflix’s first India original Sacred Games released to acclaim, the showrunners found themselves in a controversy over seemingly defamatory statements made about former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in one of the episodes. A gangster character called Ganesh Gaitonde (played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui) refers to the late Rajiv Gandhi’s alleged involvement in the Bofors scandal to justify his own illegal activities.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed the row surrounding Sacred Games in a tweet posted to his official account on the evening of 14 July. Gandhi wrote:

“The BJP/RSS believe the freedom of expression must be policed and controlled. I believe this freedom is a fundamental democratic right. My father lived and died in the service of India. The views of a character on a fictional web series can never change that.”

A Congress party member Rajeev Kumar Sinha first filed a complaint against Sacred Games in West Bengal on 10 July. In a letter to the Kolkata Police, Sinha accused Nawaz and Netflix of “abusing Rajiv Gandhi and misrepresenting facts during his regime [sic>”.

Sinha’s complaint was followed by a similar plaint filed by Suresh Shyamal Gupta, the president of Youth Indian National Trade Union Congress’ (INTUC), in Mumbai. Gupta too alleged that the Sacred Games team had insulted Gandhi with their depiction of the former Prime Minister.

The Delhi High Court is scheduled to hear a plea seeking a stay on the particular episode on 17 July.