Rahul defamation case: SC will decide grounds of his U-turn, says Naqvi

Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi's flip-flop in the Supreme Court over his remark blaming the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday said the apex court will now take a final call on whether the Congress vice-president's assertion is true.

"Whatever he said is in front of the entire world. He as well as the entire nation knows the motive and intent behind his statement. Now, if he is taking a U-turn then the court will decide whether he is correct or not," Naqvi told ANI.

Making a complete U-turn, the Congress vice-president's counsel Kapil Sibal yesterday told the Supreme Court that the former never accused the RSS as an institution that killed Mahatma Gandhi.

"'RSS ke logon ne hatya ki' is entirely different from 'RSS had killed Mahatma Gandhi'," Sibal told the court.

The apex court will hear the matter next on September 1.

Addressing a rally in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, in 2014, the Congress vice-president had alleged that the RSS members had assassinated Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, 1948.

The Congress vice-president was reported as saying, "RSS people killed Gandhi ji. They opposed Sardar Patel and Gandhi ji.