Rahul Gandhi, Stop using Gandhi's name -- Shrikrishna Kulkarni, Gandhi's great grandson

Don’t use Gandhi’s name for selfish benefits: MahatmaGandhi’s great grandson to Rahul Gandhi

March 10, 2014   DeshGujarat

Ahmedabad, 10 March 2014

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi these days in his speeches speaks against the RSS for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

Rahul had literally a slap on his face when Mahatma Gandhi’s great grandson, Shrikrishna Kulkarni wrote an open letter to him in this regard on his Facebook page. Srikrishna’s letter is now viral on social media.

“To keep harping that the RSS killed Gandhi is akin to saying the Tamils killed your father,” he writes to Rahul. “…which would be such a petty falsehood, isn’t it? A couple of guys don’t make for a community…” Charging the Congress with milking the name of Gandhi for their “selfish benefits”, he says the party should just accept the verdicts of various commissions. “So please stop this charade, stop this opportunistic usage of the Gandhi name. You are not from the Gandhi family. You have fooled too many people for too long in India. Stop it now.” Somebody from the Gandhi family has to call their bluff, he ends.

Later, speaking to CNN-IBN, Kulkarni said, there was no need to bring up the issue of Gandhi’s assassination. “Couple of points. Gandhi was killed in 1948. Many enquiry commissions were done. Nobody indicted any particular organization. There are a couple of people involved in his killing, yes. But the fact of life is he is dead and is not going to come back. To bring up the Gandhi name is not needed. We must stop fanning these flames. Stop this politics of hate for selfish reasons,” Kulkarni said.

Shrikrishna Kulkarni’s mother is Mahatma Gandhi’s third son Ramdas Gandhi’s daughter. She married GR Kulkarni.

Read full text of Kulkarni’s letter here:

I had posted this on my Facebook, but was requested to post it on Linkedin also, so here it

March 8th, 2014

Dear Rahul Gandhi,

Gandhiji was my great grandfather.

He was assassinated by Mr. Nathuram Godse. Many inquiry commissions have researched the case and none has implicated the RSS. My grandfather Ramdas Gandhi wrote to the then Home Minister, Sardar Patel to spare Mr. Godse the capital punishment … our family had moved on even then … but … just for your information .. when Ramdas Gandhi lay dying in Mumbai (1969), Mr. Gopal Godse, the younger brother of Mr. Nathuram Godse did pay him a visit. So as it stands, this issue is squarely in the past and my family has moved on…

…my humble suggestion… you folks who own Congress (I) and your good self…should move on AND QUIT milking the name Gandhi and this issue for your selfish benefits. Have the magnanimity to accept the verdicts of the various commissions.

To keep harping that the RSS killed Gandhi is akin to saying the Tamils killed your father…which would be such a patty falsehood isn’t it? A couple of guys don’t make for a community….

So please stop this charade, stop this opportunistic usage of the Gandhi name. You are not from the Gandhi family. You have fooled too many for too long in India. Stop it now.

I am putting this in the public domain as someone from the Gandhi family has to call your bluff.

Your sincerely,

Shrikrishna Kulkarni