Noted historian Ramachandra Guha on Monday was issued a legal notice by the state BJP Yuva Morcha for linking the Sangh Parivar with the killing of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh.
The notice, issued by a law firm representing BJP Yuva Morcha state secretary Karunakar Khasale, demands an “unconditional apology” from Guha within three days, and that he refrain from making such statements going forward.
A staunch opponent of Hindutva forces, Guha has been critical of the BJP and the Narendra Modi administration. After Lankesh was shot dead on September 5, Guha was quoted as having said: “It is very likely that her murderers came from the same Sangh Parivar from which the murderers of Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi came.” Guha aired similar opinions through his Twitter handle.
The notice pointed out that Guha drew conclusions while investigation was underway. “Without any basis or proof, you have given false and mischievous statements clearly calculated to defame our client’s organisation and its members,” it stated, threatening Guha with a prosecution if he failed to apologize.
On Monday evening, Guha wrote on Twitter: “Atal Bihari Vajpayee said the answer to a book or article can only be another book or article. But we no longer live in Vajpayee's India. In India today, independent writers and journalists are harassed, persecuted, and even killed. But we shall not be silenced.”
The notice comes a day before a national-level convention is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru to condemn Lankesh’s killing. “Not just Guha, we are observing everyone making such such comments. They will be issued notices as well,” BJP spokesperson Ashwath Narayan said.
Earlier on Monday, BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa demanded Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to show evidence that the BJP-RSS was behind Lankesh's murder, after he tweeted linking them with Lankesh's killing.
Published 11 September 2017, 15:49 IST