My father lived, died for India: Rahul Gandhi on 'Sacred Games' controversy

Mumbai: Amid a row over Netflix series ‘Sacred Games’ for an alleged derogatory portrayal of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that his father lived and died for the country and views of a character on a fictional web series can never change that.

The Congress chief further took a jibe at the BJP and said that unlike the saffron party and its ideological mentor, the RSS, he does not believe in policing and controlling the freedom of expression.

Taking to Twitter Rahul said, “I believe this freedom is a fundamental democratic right.”

Rahul Gandhi’s remarks came at a time when several leaders of his party are filing petitions and police complaints against the web series.

A plea filed in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought removal of certain scenes claiming that some of its content was derogatory to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

However, a bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar rescued self from hearing the plea without assigning any reason and it was later listed to a different bench.

Another complaint was filed by local West Bengal Congress leader Rajiv Kumar Sinha for allegedly insulting the former prime minister on July 10.

‘Sacred Games’ shows certain incidents of India’s political history, including some scenes about the Bofors scandal and the character played by actor Nawazudin Siddiqui referring to Rajiv Gandhi as ‘coward’.

Based on a novel by Vikram Chandra, ‘Sacred Games’ has been directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane.