The Assam Police on Saturday filed a case against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for his remark that the Congress was fighting not just the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh but also the Indian state, The Indian Express reported.

Gandhi has been booked in Guwahati for acts endangering the country’s sovereignty and integrity under Section 152 and making assertions prejudicial to national integration under Section 197(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Both these are cognisable and non-bailable offences.

The complaint was filed by an individual named Monjit Chetia, who claimed that Gandhi’s statement was not an ordinary political remark, but was “a direct challenge to the integrity and stability of India, warranting immediate legal action”.

Chetia claimed that the Congress leader incited “subversive activities and rebellion” among the population at large, ANI reported. “This is an attempt to delegitimise the authority of the State and to portray it as a hostile force, thereby creating a dangerous narrative that could provoke unrest and separatist sentiments,” he alleged in his complaint.

Gandhi, at an event to inaugurate the Congress’ new headquarters in Delhi on January 15, had said that his party was not engaged in a fair fight with the BJP and its ideological parent, the RSS.

“If you believe we are fighting against a political organisation called BJP and RSS, they have captured almost every institution in our country,’ he said. “We are now fighting not just the BJP and RSS, but the Indian State itself.”

Gandhi’s remarks had elicited sharp reactions from BJP leaders.

“Hidden no more, Congress’ ugly truth now stands exposed by their own leader,” BJP chief JP Nadda had remarked. “It is not a secret that Mr Gandhi and his ecosystem have close links with Urban Naxals and the Deep State who want to defame, demean and discredit India.”

BJP social media cell chief Amit Malviya claimed that Gandhi had “declared an open war against the Indian State itself”.