In a no-holds-barred attack on RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for his remark that India got “true independence” after the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was consecrated, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today said the comment amounted to “treason” and that Mr Bhagwat would be arrested and tried if he was in any other country.

Mr Gandhi was addressing an event to mark the inauguration of the new Congress headquarters in Delhi. “We are getting a new headquarters at a very particular time. I think it’s quite symbolic that yesterday, the chief of the RSS said that India never achieved Independence in 1947. He said true Independence in India was achieved when the Ram Mandir was built. He says that the Constitution was not the symbol of our freedom.”

Mohan Bhagwat’s audacious comment that India didn’t gain true independence in 1947 is an insult to our freedom fighters, every single Indian citizen and an attack on our Constitution. pic.twitter.com/6sMhdxn3xA

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 15, 2025

“Mohan Bhagwat has the audacity to inform the nation every two or three days what he thinks about the Independence movement, what he thinks about the Constitution. What he has said yesterday is treason because it is stating that the Constitution is invalid, it is stating that everything (done) to fight against the British was invalid and he has the audacity to say this publicly,” Mr Gandhi said, adding, “in any other country, he would be arrested and tried”.

“To say that India did not get Independence in 1947 is an insult to every single Indian and it’s about time we stop listening to this nonsense that these people think they can just keep parroting out and shouting and screaming,” the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said.

Mr Bhagwat was in Indore on Monday to present the National Devi Ahilya award to Champat Rai, general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Addressing a gathering there, he said the day of the consecration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya should be celebrated as “Pratishtha Dwadashi” as it marks the “true independence” of Bharat. “India, which faced enemy attacks for centuries, witnessed its true independence that day. We had independence, but it had not been established. India got political independence on August 15, 1947, we also brought a Constitution but the country did not run in its spirit. How can we accept that dreams have been fulfilled and pain alleviated? Our swa (self) is Ram, Krishna and Shiva. Do they belong only to those who worship them? No. Ram connects people from north to south, Krishna from east to west and Shiva is in every particle of Bharat,” he said.

In a chain of events demonstrating why India is not for beginners, a fuel pump attendant’s insistence on following the ‘no helmet, no petrol’ rule led to consequences he would not have imagined. The biker, who was refused fuel, happened to be an electricity department staff and took revenge by snipping the fuel pump’s power supply.

The bizarre incident took place in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur district on Monday. The Yogi Adityanath government has asked district officials to enforce the ‘no helmet, no petrol’ rule as part of an initiative to reduce road accident casualties. Petrol pump owners have also been asked to refuse fuel to bikers who don’t wear helmets.

According to a petrol pump attendant, a lineman with the power supply department came to refuel his bike on Monday. He was not wearing a helmet. The petrol pump staff had been told to refuse fuel to any biker not wearing a helmet. “Our owner informed us about the district magistrate’s order that no one should be given fuel if he/she is not wearing a helmet. When the lineman came, we refused to refuel his bike. He left in a huff and disconnected the power supply.”

The sudden power cut surprised the petrol pump staff. The power supply was restored about 20 minutes later. The petrol pump’s owner has registered a police complaint.

A CCTV camera in the vicinity has captured the miffed lineman stopping his bike near the transformer and scaling a wall. He then climbs a pole and snips the power line. As he climbs down, people are seen approaching the transformer to check what has gone wrong.

According to the order issued by the District Magistrate Prerna Sharma, petrol pump owners in Hapur have been asked not to sell petrol to bikers without helmets. They have been told to put up large hoardings to spread awareness about the ‘no helmet, no petrol’ rule. Even pillion riders are required to wear helmets under this rule. Petrol pump owners have also been asked to ensure CCTV cameras on the premises are working so that the footage can help in case of a dispute.

Inputs by Mohd Adnan

Two landers owned by US and Japanese companies to carry out separate tests on the Moon’s surface. 

​Two landers owned by US and Japanese companies to carry out separate tests on the Moon’s surface.