Congress Alerts Home Ministry About Death Threat to Rahul Gandhi from Former ABVP Leader

KC Venugopal has highlighted what he describes as a "chilling and heinous" death threat against Rahul Gandhi.

In New Delhi, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal penned a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday regarding alarming comments made by a former ABVP leader targeting Rahul Gandhi during a televised debate. Venugopal warned that failure to take swift action against the individual would be interpreted as complicity and normalization of violence against the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha.

The letter specifically addressed what Venugopal termed a "chilling and heinous" death threat made against Rahul Gandhi by Printu Mahadev, who previously served as a state president of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student organization affiliated with the RSS.

According to Venugopal, Mahadev, whom he identified as a BJP spokesperson, made these concerning statements during a televised debate on a Malayalam channel.

"This was not a mere slip of the tongue or careless hyperbole. Mahadev openly declared that 'Rahul Gandhi will be shot in the chest' - a cold, calculated and chilling death threat against the Leader of Opposition and one of India's foremost political leaders," Venugopal emphasized.

"When such poisonous rhetoric comes from an official spokesperson of the ruling party, it not only places Rahul Gandhi's life in immediate danger but also undermines the Constitution, rule of law, and basic security guarantees owed to every citizen - particularly the Leader of Opposition," stated the Congress general secretary in-charge of organization.

Venugopal noted that the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which is responsible for Rahul Gandhi's security, has submitted multiple letters regarding threats to his safety.

"Disturbingly, one such letter addressed to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was leaked to media under mysterious circumstances, raising serious questions about the motives behind this disclosure."

"Against this backdrop, it is both alarming and utterly reprehensible that a BJP spokesperson felt emboldened enough to issue an explicit death threat that suggests a larger, sinister conspiracy being cultivated to justify violence against Rahul Gandhi," Venugopal added.

He further alleged that numerous instances of death threats and calls for violence against Rahul Gandhi have been propagated through various social media platforms linked to or backed by the BJP.

"It is now your responsibility to clarify where your party and government stand on this issue. Do you openly endorse the politics of criminal intimidation, death threats, and violence that are poisoning India's public discourse?" Venugopal questioned.

He expressed that the Congress party and millions of Indians who view Rahul Gandhi as a defender of their rights are gravely concerned about the imminent danger to his life.

"Rahul Gandhi embodies service and unwavering commitment to India's pluralistic values. He carries forward the legacy of a family that has sacrificed tremendously for this nation - from Indira Gandhi, assassinated in 1984 while defending national unity, to Rajiv Gandhi, martyred in 1991 during his efforts for peace and modernization," he stated.

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

"This threat is not simply a careless outburst by a minor functionary; it reflects a deliberately cultivated toxic atmosphere of hatred that makes the Leader of Opposition vulnerable to senseless violence."

"Therefore, any failure by you to act swiftly, decisively, and publicly will be interpreted as complicity - essentially providing implicit approval for legitimizing and normalizing violence against the Leader of Opposition and constituting a serious violation of your oath as Union Home Minister," Venugopal cautioned.

He stated that the nation demands immediate and exemplary legal action through state police to ensure justice is swift, visible, and appropriately severe.

Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera commented, "This is not an isolated threat to Rahul Gandhi's life. The government's letter regarding Rahul Ji's security sent to Kharge Ji, and the deliberate leakage of its contents, suggests a concerning conspiracy." He added that by politicizing the sensitive security issues of a leader who has lost two family members to assassinations, the current administration is engaging in dangerous behavior.

On Saturday, VD Satheesan, Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, criticized the state government and police for failing to take action against the leader who allegedly issued the threat against Rahul Gandhi.