Mumbai court summons Rahul Gandhi over ‘commander-in-thief’ jibe at PM Modi

The court was acting on a complaint filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker, Mahesh Shrishrimal, over comments made by Gandhi during a rally in September last year.

 A magistrate court in Girgaum on Friday issued summons to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his alleged defamatory remarks against Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi. Gandhi has been asked to appear before the court on October 3.

The complainant further said that a few days after the rally, Gandhi had posted a defamatory statement on a microblogging site. (HT image)

The court was acting on a complaint filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker, Mahesh Shrishrimal, over comments made by Gandhi during a rally in September last year. Shrishrimal has referred to all comments relating to the Rafale deal and those directed against the BJP and Modi, including calling the PM a “commander-in-thief”.

“On September 20, 2018, he [Rahul] conducted public rally in Rajasthan and during the said rally, he made defamatory statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi as ‘Modiji ne kaha tha main desh ka chaukidaar banana chahta hun. Aur aaj desh ke dil mein, ek nayi awaaz uth rahi hai, gali gali me shor hai, Hindustan ka choukidaar chor hai [Modiji had said that he wants to be the country’s chowkidar. Today, there is a new voice emerging across the country that the country’ chowkidar is a thief],” reads the complaint.

The complainant further said that a few days after the rally, Gandhi had posted a defamatory statement on a microblogging site. “He, on September 24, 2018, commented on a video and posted on his personal account that ‘the truth about India’s commander-in-thief’. He went ahead and called PM Modi as ‘commander-in-thief’,” reads the complaint

Accepting Shrishrimal’s complaint, the judge observed, “It appears that the complainant, being a member of the BJP, has a locus to file the complaint. The fact stated by the complainant on oath reveals that the alleged defamation was caused not only to the Prime Minister but also its members.”