Stalin then went on to attribute these threats as a reaction to Gandhi’s “charisma and growing public support”.
The DMK supremo took to X and said he was deeply shocked by media reports of a BJP leader’s threat that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would meet the same fate as his grandmother Indira Gandhi and a Shiv Sena MLA announcing a bounty for chopping off the Leader of Opposition’s (LoP) tongue, among other incendiary comments.
“My brother Rahul Gandhi’s charisma and growing public support have clearly unsettled many, leading to such vile acts of intimidation”, CM Stalin wrote on X.
The DMK supremo who often refers to Rahul Gandhi as his “brother”, urged the Union government to ramp up security to Rahul Gandhi and reminded the central government that there “is no place for violence in our democracy”.
“The Union government must act swiftly to ensure protection for the Leader of the Opposition and reaffirm that intimidation and violence have no place in our democracy,” the Dravidian leader said.
The response also comes after Congress chief wrote to PM Modi and demanded his intervention to “impose discipline” on his netas. In the letter Kharge said: “You would be aware that a series of highly objectionable, violent and rude statements are being made against the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Shri Rahul Gandhi.” Terming the “violent language” used by the leaders of BJP and its alliance parties, Kharge said the trend is “dangerous for the future”.
“The world is shocked that the Minister of State for Railways in the Central Government, a minister from BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, is calling the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha “number one terrorist”. An MLA from an alliance party in your government in Maharashtra is announcing a reward of Rs 11 lakh to the person who “cuts off the tongue” of the Leader of the Opposition. A BJP leader and former MLA in Delhi is threatening to make his “fate like Dadi”,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ajay Maken filed a complaint against several BJP leaders for issuing threats against Rahul Gandhi. The complaint, lodged at Tughlak Road police station in Delhi mentions BJP leaders including minister of state for railways Ravneet Singh Bittu, Delhi BJP leader Tarvinder Singh Marwah, Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, and Uttar Pradesh minister Raghuraj Singh.
According to Maken, Marwah threatened Rahul Gandhi during a BJP event on September 11, warning him with a statement that implied he could face the same fate as his grandmother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. According to the complaint, Gaikwad allegedly offered a bounty of Rs 11 lakh for anyone who would “cut Rahul Gandhi’s tongue” during a public statement on September 16.
Maken’s complaint further claims that Bittu called Rahul Gandhi “the number one terrorist of the country” in a speech on September 15, which Maken argued was meant to incite violence and disturb public peace. Raghuraj Singh is also accused of making a similar statement on September 16, calling Rahul Gandhi “India’s number one terrorist.”
( with input from agency)