New Delhi: Congress MP and the party’s general secretary K.C. Venugopal on Sunday (September 28) wrote a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah after a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson’s remarks on a televised debate, and said that a “cold calculated chilling death threat” had been issued against the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

In his letter posted on X, Venugopal said that the remarks made by Printu Mahadev on a television debate on the violence in Ladakh broadcast on News18 Kerala – in which the BJP spokesperson had said Gandhi “will be shot in the chest” – are not just a “careless outburst by a petty functionary” but a “deliberately cultivated” hatred that renders the Leader of Opposition vulnerable to mindless violence.

Venugopal said in his letter to Shah that any failure to act "swiftly" will "be judged as complicity-a de facto license for the legitimisation and normalisation of violence against the Leader of Opposition and a grave breach of your oath as Union Home Minister".

Venugopal said that such words by an official spokesperson of the ruling party placed Gandhi in "immediate danger" and undermines the Constitution, rule of law and the basic security assurances owed to every citizen.

Referring to the CRPF's letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge recently, Venugopal said that its leakage raises serious questions. Earlier this month, in a letter to Kharge, the CRPF said that Gandhi had not intimated the force of his foreign trips abroad, which decreased security effectiveness.

Venugopal said that the CRPF had written multiple letters regarding threats to Gandhi's safety.

“Shockingly one such letter addressed to the Congress president Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, was leaked to the media under mysterious circumstances, raising serious questions about the intention behind doing so," said Venugopal.

"Against this backdrop, it is not only alarming but utterly reprehensible that a spokesperson of the BJP felt emboldened enough to issue a naked and open death threat that carries the stench of a larger, sinister conspiracy being cultivated to validate violence against Rahul Gandhi."

Venugopal alleged that there have been multiple instances of death threats and calls for violence against Gandhi, "propagated through various social media platforms backed or linked" to the BJP.

“It is now your responsibility to clarify what your party and the government stands for. Do you openly endorse the politics of criminal intimidation, death threats and violence that are poisoning India's public life,” he said.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.