Rahul Gandhi must quit politics to save future of Congress: Subramanian Swamy

With Rahul Gandhi reigniting the debate over his comment on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) by saying that he stands firmly by what he said, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Thursday asserted that making 'u-turns' was second nature to the Congress vice president and advised him to quit politics to save the future of the grand old party.

"He is a major coward and making u-turns is his second nature. I think that he has absolutely no political future and he should just quit from politics to save the future of Congress. Not even sure if he tweeted it himself, it was probably someone from his office," Swamy told ANI here.

Earlier today, the Office of Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet, "I will never stop fighting the hateful and divisive agenda of the RSS. I stand by every single word I said."

This development came a day after Rahul Gandhi's counsel told the Supreme Court that he had never blamed the Rashtriya RSS for killing Mahatma Gandhi.

Following Rahul's submission, a Bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and RF Nariman said if the complainant agrees to the submission, it will take the statement on record and dispose of the petition.

Senior advocate and Congress leader Kapil Sibal, appearing for Rahul Gandhi, cited the affidavit filed before the High Court saying he had only accused certain people of RSS and not the organisation as the killer of Mahatma Gandhi.

"I never made the statement that RSS killed Mahatma Gandhi but persons associated with the RSS killed him," the senior advocate had told the Court.

In his complaint, RSS Bhiwandi secretary Rajesh Mahadev Kunte alleged that Rahul told in an election rally in Sonale on March 6 last year that "the RSS people killed Gandhiji".

He alleged that the Congress leader had sought to tarnish the reputation of RSS through his speech.

The case is pending before a magisterial court in Bhiwandi in Maharashtra's Thane district.