Rahul Gandhi expresses regret for attributing 'chowkidar chor hai' remark to SC

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday expressed regret for attributing ‘chowkidar chor hai’ remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Supreme Court. Gandhi said that the comment was made in the heat of campaigning and his comments were misused by his political opponents.

"It is unfortunate that this slogan got intermingled with my comments on and references to the apex court’s order dated 15.04.2019. My statement was made in the heat of political campaigning. It has been used (and misused) by my political opponents to project that I had deliberately and intentionally suggested that this Court had said Chowkidar Chor Hai! Nothing could be farther from my mind," News18.com quoted Gandhi as saying in his affidavit.

The Congress president’s clarification came while replying to the Supreme Court on a defamation case filed by BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi.

After the apex court allowed leaked documents connected to the Rafale deal to review a previous ruling, Gandhi had claimed a moral victory and said "I want to thank the Supreme Court. The entire country is saying that chowkidar chor hai. It is a day of celebration that the Supreme Court has talked about justice."

Gandhi made the remarks during a rally in Amethi.

Subsequently, the top court clarified that it had not made any remarks regarding the Prime Minister's role in the Rafale deal and asked Gandhi to give an explanation for his statement by April 22.

In his affidavit, Gandhi seeks dismissal of the contempt petition and at the same time gave his undertaking.

"It is further denied that trading of contentions with respect to the Rafale deal between political parties in any way lowers the authority and majesty of this Hon'ble Court. However, there should be no misrepresentation of any order of this Court and the Respondent never intended to do so," News18.com report added.

“He will not attribute any views, observations or findings to the Court in political addresses to the media and in public speeches, unless such views, observations or findings are recorded by the Court,” the website added.