The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Karnataka unit has issued a legal notice to historian and columnist Ramachandra Guha for linking Gauri Lankesh’s murder to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The notice was sent on behalf of Karunakar Khasale, the state secretary of the BJP’s Yuva Morcha.

The party has demanded a public apology from Guha besides conveying the same to complainant Khasale for making “defamatory, baseless and false allegations” against the Sangh Parivar. Speaking to Newslaundry, BJP Karnataka spokesperson Ashwathnarayan said, “We have given him three days time to apologise. After that, we will file a case against him.” The notice directs Guha to refrain from making such statements and allegations against the organisation in future. 

Newslaundry reached out to Guha for his response and whether he would be willing to apologise. This piece will be updated if and when he chooses to respond. Meanwhile, in a Twitter thread, Guha wrote about the harassment meted out to independent journalists.

According to the legal notice which Newslaundry has accessed, BJP’s ire emanates from a line that Guha said in a Skype interview with Scroll.in on September 6. “It is very likely that her murderers came from the same Sangh Parivar from which the murderers of Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi came,” he had told Smitha Nair, the interviewer. (Stream to 1:07 where he says the line)

Besides the interview, in a column published in Hindustan Times on September 9, Guha is said to have made “similar statements” intentionally to “bring disrepute to our Client’s organisation and its members”. 

In the notice, the complainant, Khasale, has expressed “shock” and added that Guha attempted to “tarnish the image and reputation” of the organisation he belonged to.