Rahul Gandhi disqualified as MP over defamation case - A look at other controversial remarks made by Congress leader
2 min read . Updated: 24 Mar 2023, 07:00 PM IST
PremiumRahul Gandhi was convicted in a 2019 criminal defamation case this week. The disqualified Congress MP was sentenced to two years in prison over a remark using the surname 'Modi' at a poll campaign event.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made headlines this week after a Surat court handed him a two year jail term in a criminal defamation case. The verdict has also prompted his disqualification from the Lok Sabha, with furious Congress leaders insisting that they would fight the developments both "legally and politically". This is however not the first time that Gandhi has found himself mired in controversy over his comments.
Chowkidar chor hai
Complaints had been filed against Gandhi in 2019 after he made people chant 'chowkidar chor hai' during a rally in Bihar. Gandhi has been using the slogan at public meetings for quite some time to allege that financial irregularities have taken place in the Rafale deal. The word chowkidar gained currency when Prime Minister Narendra Modi used it during the 2014 election campaign to convey that he saw himself as a watchman who guarded the country.
VD Savarkar helped the British
Gandhi had claimed in November last year that Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar helped the British. He added that the latter had also written a mercy petition to the then rulers. The Congress leader's remarks came after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray said he does not agree with Gandhi’s views. The assertions had sparked outrage, with the BJP and Sena lashing out at Gandhi.
RSS killed Mahatama Gandhi
Even as the Congress gears up to appeal the Surat court verdict, another defamation case also looms over Gandhi in connection with remarks he had made in 2014. Rajesh Kunte, a local functionary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, had filed the case against Rahul Gandhi in 2014 after listening to his speech in Thane’s Bhiwandi area. The Congress leader had alleged that the RSS was behind the killing of Mahatma Gandhi.
Rape in India
Gandhi had triggered protests after contending that even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about Make In India' it has now become 'rape in India' - with such incidents being reported in newspapers across the country. Following this, a social worker had lodged a sedition case against Rahul Gandhi. The Congress leader had however insisted that he would never apologise for the assertion. Instead, he demanded an apology from Narendra Modi, claiming that the Prime Minister had called Delhi a "rape capital" under the UPA government.
(With inputs from agencies)