Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar’s grandnephew Satyaki Savarkar on Monday told a Pune court that his maternal grandfather Gopal Godse and MK Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse were active members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Live Law reported.

Satyaki Savarkar made the statement during his cross-examination before a special MP/MLA court in a criminal defamation trial against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

The RSS, the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has long claimed that Nathuram Godse had left the organisation much before Gandhi’s assassination.

Satyaki Savarkar on Monday acknowledged before the Pune court that Gopal Godse and VD Savarkar were among those accused of conspiring to kill Gandhi, Bar and Bench reported.

Gopal Godse was the younger brother of Nathuram Godse, who shot Gandhi dead in 1948. He was found guilty of taking part in the assassination conspiracy, and spent 18 years in prison. VD Savarkar was acquitted due to the lack of evidence.

The case stems from a complaint filed by Satyaki Savarkar in April 2023 against Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of making false and malicious remarks about his uncle during an event in London in March 2023.

On Monday, Satyaki Savarkar filed an application before the Pune court urging it to order the Congress leader’s voice sample to be collected, so that it could be matched with the speech he delivered in London, Live Law reported.

The application also questioned Rahul Gandhi’s request for exemption from physical appearance in court on security grounds, citing Pune as Nathuram Godse’s hometown. Satyaki Savarkar pointed out that the Congress leader was scheduled to address an event in Pune on or around August 22, Live Law reported.

Edited by Sara Varghese.

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