A criminal defamation suit has been filed against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and its general secretary Sitaram Yechury for linking journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh’s murder with “BJP-RSS ideology”.

Rashtriya Swayam-sevak Sangh (RSS) worker Dhrutiman Joshi, a 27-year-old lawyer from Dadar, filed the private complaint in a local court. It sought issuance of summons and process for the criminal defamation case against the Gandhis and Mr Yechury under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for defaming the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“After Rahul Gandhi and Sitaram Yechury made statements linking Gauri Lankesh’s murder with RSS ideology, many of my friends started asking me if RSS was behind her murder,” said Mr Joshi, adding, “One of my friends from America and few lawyer friends were ridiculed and told that their organisation and its ideology had killed her. I have those Facebook messages and I really do not appreciate it. I personally felt very bad because I am not part of something that is a murderers’ institution. So to make things clear in the eyes of public, and to make them also realise that they should not make such statements, I have filed this suit.”