Rahul Gandhi vows to step up battle against Sangh

Mumbai: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said he will intensify his fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) “with 10 times more vigour”.

He also held a brief discussion with party leaders in Mumbai, in which he asked them to aggressively take up issues faced by citizens during monsoon.

Mr Gandhi and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechuri Thursday appeared before a magistrate court in Mumbai and pleaded not guilty in a criminal defamation case filed by a Mumbai lawyer affiliated to the RSS.

The court granted them bail on a surety amount of Rs 15,000 each, along with permanent exemption from court appearance.

Dhrutiman Joshi, an RSS activist and advocate, had filed a private complaint in 2017 against Mr Gandhi and Mr Yechury, seeking defamation proceedings to be initiated against them for allegedly linking RSS to the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh.  “Aakraman ho raha hai, maza aa raha hai (They are attacking me and I am enjoying it),” said Mr Gandhi after leaving the court.

Saying that he is ‘enjoying the attack,’ the Congress leader said, “I am with the poor, farmers and labourers. This fight against BJP and RSS will continue. I will continue the fight with 10 times more vigour than I did during the last five years.”

The former Congress president also discussed the party’s preparation for the upcoming Assembly polls in the state. “When told about Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Agadhi (VBA) decision to offer only 40 seats to the Congress for the Assembly polls, Rahulji said that instead of focussing on the vote share of other parties like Vanchit Aghadi or MNS, the Congress leaders should focus on improving its own vote share in the state,” said one leader.

“Rahulji said that the party should hit the streets to highlight the problems faced by citizens during rains. He asked us to aggressively take up the issue of problems faced by Mumbaikars during the monsoons,” said another