Senior Congress leaders alleged a conspiracy to assassinate Rahul Gandhi, even as police booked a Kerala BJP supporter for saying that the Opposition leader would be shot if he were to encourage violent protests.

On News18 Kerala’s Friday night debate on the Ladakh unrest, former ABVP leader Printu Mahadev said: “Things are different here (India) like what happened in Bangladesh, which lacked any support from the ruling government there. People of India are strongly behind the Narendra Modi government. If Rahul Gandhi has any such interest, there’s no doubt that a bullet shot would hit him.”

Congress media and publicity head Pawan Khera said: “Every time the RSS fails to defeat the ideology of India, their foot soldiers resort to physical violence. And a Godse kills Gandhi. Now, when the BJP is losing the ideological battle, their spokespersons and leaders are threatening to kill Rahul Gandhi. A conspiracy is afoot to silence the voice of millions of poor, marginalised and weaker sections. There’s a conspiracy to silence Rahul Gandhi.

“Before this, CRPF wrote a letter to (Congress chief Mallikarjun) Kharge ji on Rahul Gandhi’s safety and leaked it. So why is his security being politicised and such an environment being created?”

After complaints by the Congress and the Kerala Students Union, Mahadev has been booked in Thrissur district under sections 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 353 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the penal code.

On Sunday, Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal wrote to home minister Amit Shah saying: “It is now your responsibility to clarify what your party
and the government stand for. Do you openly endorse the politics of criminal intimidation, death threats and violence that are poisoning India’s public life?

“As such, any failure by you to act swiftly, decisively and publicly will be judged as complicity — a de facto licence for the legitimisation and normalisation of violence against the leader of Opposition and a grave breach of your oath as the Union home minister.”

BJP leader and former deputy Union minister V. Muraleedharan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram: “BJP is ruling the country. So, do you think the BJP would come up with a statement that the leader of Opposition would be shot? That statement itself is ridiculous. It’s the BJP government who has been providing him with 24x7 security. The same Rahul Gandhi on certain occasions while travelling abroad on private missions insists against the security.”

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah posted on X: “We strongly condemn this dangerous rhetoric. The BJP must apologise to the nation and take action against the culprit.”