Rahul Gandhi makes U-turn in SC, says never accused RSS as an institution for crime

Making a complete U-turn, Rahul Gandhi's counsel and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that Gandhi never accused Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as an institution that killed Mahatma Gandhi.The court deferred the hearing till 1 September as senior counsel Umesh Lalit, appearing for the RSS worker, wanted time to take instructions from his client.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. PTI

Earlier in July, the Supreme Court had told Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi that he must either apologise or face trial for his remarks accusing that the RSS was responsible for Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.

In May 2015, the Congress vice president had moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the Bombay High Court order dismissing his plea for quashing a defamation case against him for allegedly blaming RSS for the assassination of The Mahatma.

At a rally in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, in 2014, Gandhi reportedly took on the RSS saying that "RSS people killed Gandhiji. They opposed Sardar Patel and Gandhiji".

Rajesh Kunte, the secretary of Bhiwandi unit of RSS, alleged that Rahul at an election rally blamed the RSS for Gandhi's death. Kunte, according to PTI, said that the Congress leader had sought to tarnish the reputation of the Sangh through his speech. Kunte then filed the defamation suit in a Maharashtra court

Following the complaint, the magistrate's court had initiated proceedings and issued a notice to Rahul directing him to appear before it.

RSS and the BJP have always maintained that Nathuram Godse, the Hindu militant who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, had no connection with the RSS.

"Godse had nothing to do with RSS. The attempt to link Godse to RSS was politically motivated. It was an attempt to defame RSS," BJP leader GVL Narsimha Rao told CNN-News 18.

With Inputs from PTI and IANS