Congress President Rahul Gandhi has tendered an unconditional apology in the Supreme Court for “unintentionally and inadvertently” attributing the ‘Chowkidar Chow hai’ jibe against Prime Minister Modi to the court’s order on Rafale Review plea.
Congress president @RahulGandhi tenders unconditional apology to the Supreme Court for unintentionally and inadvertently linking SC order in Rafale review plea to his “Chowkidar chor hai” political jibe against PM @narendramodi#LokSabhaElections2019 #ElectionsWithTimes pic.twitter.com/sgl32TTRIh
— Times of India (@timesofindia) May 8, 2019
On April 10, while campaigning at a rally, Rahul Gandhi had stated that the Supreme Court order says, “Chowkidar Chor Hai”. BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi had filed a contempt plea against the statement on which the SC had issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi. The court had stated that it has never said so.
The SC had allowed the admissibility of three documents in their hearing of the review petitions on the Rafale verdict. Rahul, Congress and the supportive ecosystem had propagated the step as a big victory against the NDA government.
Rahul’s unconditional apology comes after much embarrassment to his image and his party as he was made to admit he had said it at ‘the heat of campaigning’.
The Supreme Court had also objected over the affidavit submitted by Rahul Gandhi. CJI Gogoi had stated during a hearing that Rahul admitted wrongly attributing the remark but he stands by it.
Later, the SC had also raised an objection regarding Rahul Gandhi’s affidavits. The court had stated that ‘regret’ is not ‘apology’ and had ordered Rahul to submit an unconditional apology.
You can run but you can’t hide! Rahul Gandhi finally apologises to the SC for his irresponsible remarks. Justice is a great leveller and Pinocchio’s story is a great reminder! #maafkarosarkar
— Chowkidar Meenakashi Lekhi (@M_Lekhi) May 8, 2019
Meenakshi Lekhi, the petitioner in the case, has shared a tweet stating that Justice is a great leveller.