America
Suit against RSS: Secretary John Kerry served
New York, January 23, 2015
In
the Modi linked RSS lawsuit, the plaintiff served the Federal Court summons on the
defendant Secretary John Kerry through US Attorney's Office in New York on
January 23. Preet Bharara is the head of US Attorney's Office which is
responsible for litigation brought against the United States in the Southern
District of New York.
The
Sikh human rights group has also served the defendant Secretary Kerry through
Jerry Drake, Acting Executive Director at US Department of State in Washington DC.
The
service of summons sets March 24 as deadline for the defendant Secretary Kerry
to respond to the declaratory lawsuit seeking "Foreign Terrorist Organization"
(FTO) status for RSS. Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a)(2) when a United States
Officer is sued in official capacity, he must answer to the complaint within 60
days after service on the United
States attorney.
The
lawsuit filed by human rights group "Sikhs For Justice" (SFJ) asks
the US Court
to designate "Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh" (RSS), militant wing of
ruling BJP as an FTO, "for believing in and practicing a fascist ideology
and for running a passionate, vicious and violent campaign to turn India into
a "Hindu" nation with a homogeneous religious and cultural
identity".
January
21 lawsuit requests the court that "RSS along with its affiliates and
subsidiaries be designated as an FTO, in accordance with Section 219 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and designate RSS as a Specially
Designated Global Terrorist entity (SDGT) under Executive Order 13224".
The case filed in Southern District of New York, "Sikhs For Justice" (SFJ) v. John Kerry, US Secretary of State (15-cv-00433)
has been assigned to Judge Swain.
Citing
Secretary Kerry's recent statement that "all extremists groups should be
targeted equally", SFJ's legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun stated that
"RSS should be designated as a terror group and Obama administration
should not let US
economic interests to affect its commitment against war on terror".
Secretary Kerry has just concluded a trip to India
and Pakistan
as a precursor to President Obama's January 26 visit.
In
December 2014, "Sikh For Justice" (SFJ) requested Secretary Kerry to
designate RSS an FTO on the basis of their campaign against religious
minorities and extensive reports by US based NGOs regarding material support
extended to RSS by the American Hindu organizations.
"The
Terrorism Watch & Warning", a US based think tank in its December
2014 report, categorized RSS as ‘Threat Group’ and called it “a shadowy,
discriminatory group that seeks to establish a Hindu Rashtra, a Hindu Nationâ€. Describing violence as ‘Group Activities’ for
the RSS, the report further states, “Violence has been a strategy for the Sangh
movement". [
http://www.terrorism.com/2014/04/26/rashtriya-swayamsevak-sangh-rss/ ]
FTOs are foreign organizations that are designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).