Congress slams death threat to Rahul Gandhi, blames ‘toxic’ BJP-RSS discourse

Congress condemns death threats against Rahul Gandhi, blaming BJP-RSS for fostering a toxic culture of animosity in politics

The Congress on Thursday (February 19, 2026) condemned the video of a man claiming to be associated with the Karni Sena issuing death threats to Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and “25 other MPs”, with party general secretary K.C. Venugopal accusing the BJP of fostering a “toxic culture of animosity” in national discourse.

However, Kota Superintendent of Police Tejaswani Gautam said the man, who identified himself as Raj Singh in the video, had been detained at Borkheda police station and was being questioned.

In a post on X, Mr. Venugopal said “self-proclaimed Modi bhakts are brazenly issuing death threats against Rahul Gandhi in broad daylight — without any reprimand from the ruling regime”.

“This is a direct result of the toxic culture of animosity and vengeance created by the BJP in national discourse — right from Parliament to political rallies. They treat political opponents as die-hard enemies to be eliminated, and their foot soldiers — blinded by hate — are unleashed to intimidate Opposition leaders,” he said.

He added that such threats would not deter Mr. Gandhi, saying he “will continue to face each adversary head on”.

Earlier, Pawan Khera, who heads the party’s media and publicity department, shared the video on X and alleged that the “RSS-BJP ecosystem is a ‘Godse factory’”.