Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has filed his response before an MP/MLA court in Varanasi in a matter related to his alleged provocative remarks made against the Sikh community during his visit to the United States in September 2024.
Gandhi submitted a written reply in a revision petition filed by one Nageshwar Mishra, seeking registration of an FIR against him over the alleged inflammatory comments.
Terming Mishra’s plea as politically motivated, Gandhi contended that there was no legal ground to initiate any criminal action against him since he did not commit any offence under law.
The Congress leader called himself a ‘true patriot’, stating that he had a deep respect for all religions and communities, including the Sikh community, and that his remarks were actually in the interest of the Sikh community, highlighting their contribution.
The statement talked about the atrocities being committed on a particular community (Sikhs) all over the world. It did not target the Sikhs, but was intended to give them honour. There was nothing in the statement that insulted the Sikh community or hurt the sentiments of any person of the said community, he added.
Gandhi said he neither intended to incite enmity between communities, nor was there any criminal intent behind his words.
The speech was seen and heard by 140 crore citizens of India, but except for the revisionist, no other Indian was concerned over it. This clearly showed that there was nothing objectionable in the statement, he added.
Gandhi further submitted that for an alleged offence committed outside India, the proviso to Section 208 BNSS provided that no such offence could be inquired into or tried in India except with the previous sanction of the Central government.
Mishra filed the petition in 2024, claiming that Gandhi had made an objectionable statement during his visit to the US by stating that there was an atmosphere of insecurity among Sikhs in India.
Calling the statement a provocation, the petitioner contended that by making such speech, Gandhi intended to incite people to fight for his political interests.
His petition was dismissed by the court on November 28, 2024. Mishra filed an instant revision plea, on which a notice was earlier issued to Gandhi.