I stand by every single word, says Rahul on RSS role in Mahatma killing

New Delhi, August 25

Dismissing suggestions that he had made a U-turn on RSS role in killing Mahatma Gandhi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday insisted that he stood by "every single word" said by him.

"I will never stop fighting the hateful & divisive agenda of the RSS. I stand by every single word I said," he tweeted.

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His tweet came after media reports said he took a U-turn yesterday when he told the Supreme Court that he did not ever blame the RSS for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi but had only said a "few individuals in the organisation" were responsible for it.

Before Rahul's tweet, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said in the morning that wisdom had prevailed upon the Congress vice-president.

"Good, Rahul finally admitted before Supreme Court that RSS is not accused in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

"Wisdom has prevailed. It may be a U-turn but a good turn. RSS a patriotic organization. RSS — Ready for Self Service anywhere any time," Naidu tweeted.

Rahul yesterday chose to set the records straight by telling the top court that he had never blamed RSS as an institution for killing Mahatma Gandhi but persons associated with it were behind the assassination.

He buttressed his stand by citing paragraphs from his affidavit filed in the Bombay High Court, while challenging the summons issued to him as an accused for his alleged defamatory statement in a 2015 election rally in Maharashtra.

Senior advocate and Congress leader Kapil Sibal, appearing for Rahul Gandhi, cited the affidavit filed before the High Court saying he had only accused certain people of RSS and not the organisation as the killer of Mahatma Gandhi.

"I never made the statement that RSS killed Mahatma Gandhi but persons associated with the RSS killed him," the senior advocate had told the Court.

Earlier today, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had dismissed suggestions that Rahul has made a U-turn in the Supreme Court on the RSS and said the party vice-president stands by his assertion that the person who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi was from the organisation.

"No U-Turn by Rahul Gandhi on RSS. He stands by what he said. Person who killed was from RSS. It is the Ideology of hate and violence which killed Mahatma Gandhi", the Congress general secretary said in a series of tweets. — PTI