Will fight BJP, RSS with more vigour: Rahul Gandhi

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. Former Congress MP Eknath Gaikwad stood as surety for Mr Gandhi.

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. This is the second defamation case which Mr Gandhi is facing in Maharashtra.

“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.”