Gauri Lankesh murder: Rahul Gandhi hits out at BJP, RSS; calls PM Narendra Modi ‘skilled Hindutva politician’

New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the killing of senior Kannada journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh.

Commenting on the killing of Gauri Lankesh, the Congress leader said, “It is a philosophy…anybody who speaks against the ideology of BJP and RSS, is pressurised, beaten, attacked and even killed.”

“People say that the PM is quiet and not said anything, the point is that the entire ideology is to crush dissent,” Rahul Gandhi added.

Calling PM Modi a skilled ‘Hindutva politician’, Rahul said, “Sometimes, under pressure, the Prime Minister makes some statements. But the entire idea is to crush dissent,” adding that “non-violence is the history of this nation… Murder cannot be justified”.

The Gandhi scion further accused the PM of double speak.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi also condemned the killing of Gauri Lankesh and said it was a chilling reminder that “intolerance and bigotry is raising its ugly head in our society”.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday condemned the killing of the senior journalist at her Bengaluru home and demanded a speedy investigation.

Gauri Lankesh, known for her left-leaning outlook and forthright views against Hindutva politics, was shot dead on Tuesday night by unidentified men at her residence.

Meanwhile, the brother of Gauri Lankesh on Wednesday confirmed that two CCTV cameras were fixed at near the gate and door, and the footage can reveal what actually happened on Tuesday night when her sister was shot dead by unidentified assailants at her residence.

“The two CCTV cameras (near the gate and door) even without lights has captured the whole incident and in fact from the footage we can make out what has actually happened there.. planning and execution everything is recorded there,” the brother said.