‘Anti-national’ statements at college function in Odisha’s Jharsuguda; FIR against organisers, Rahul Gandhi

A citizens forum of Jharsuguda met with the IGP Northern Range, Himanshu Lal on Friday and urged him to take strict legal action against the Gandhi Vichar Manch for organizing an allegedly communal event at Laxmi Narayan College here.

Reports mentioned that the forum lodged a strong protest against event speaker Rahul Dev and alleged that he made remarks criticising Hindus, RSS, BJP, and Veer Savarkar.

The forum also levied charges that ‘anti-national forces’ might be funding the Gandhi Vichar Manch to conduct such programs and demanded that police take stringent action against the accused for harming the harmony of the region.

In the same meeting, the forum also accused Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, of making anti-national statements on January 15, 2025, during the inauguration of the Congress Party's new headquarters in Delhi.

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The petitioners included members of the BJP, its youth wing, RSS, and Bajrang Dal of Jharsuguda district. Subsequently, an FIR was registered against Gandhi at Jharsuguda police station (case No 31) under section 152 (criminalizes acts that threaten India's sovereignty, unity, and integrity), 197(1) (d) (for making or publishing false or misleading information that threatens India's unity, sovereignty, integrity, or security) of BNS.

The IGP also forwarded the complaint to Jharsuguda SP Parmar Smit Parshottamdas for inquiry and necessary legal action.

"I do not know the nature of the allegation against Rahul Gandhi, let me see it first. The Congress as a political party has been fighting against the ideology of BJP and RSS," former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Srikant Jena told PTI.

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Meanwhile, the police are said to have taken note of the matter at the Jharsuguda College. A probe is reportedly underway to determine the nature and permit for the event but no additional comments could be obtained so far.

With inputs from PTI