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After being pulled up by SC, Rahul Gandhi apologises for attributing ‘chohkidar chor hai’ remark to top court

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday issued an apology for attributing his “chowkidar chor hai” remark to Supreme Court’s verdict in the Rafale case.

The development comes after the Supreme Court pulled up the Congress chief for his remarks and asked when did it make the statement. The top court was hearing a contempt plea filed by BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi, accusing Gandhi of attributing some observations to the apex court which was not in the April 10 Rafale judgment.

The apex court bench, headed by Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi asked Gandhi’s counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi to explain Congress president’s remark.

Singhvi, in his reply, issued an apology on behalf of Gandhi for attributing ‘chowkidar chor hai’ remarks to Supreme Court’s verdict. He further said that the Congress president will submit an affidavit apologising for his remark on Monday (April 6).

“We admitted that there were three errors in the affidavit. Rahul Gandhi is sorry for misquoting Supreme Court. However, our stance on chowkidar chor hai is firm. Chowkidar is chor, we know this,” Singhvi to reporters.

The court slammed Gandhi for submitting a 22-page affidavit to “express regret” over his statement. “When did court made chor remark… Rahul’s regret fails to convince… Why is regret expressed in ‘brackets’, Do you need a 22-page affidavit to show regret,” the top court asked Singhvi.

The Congress president had earlier, in an affidavit, had said that the statement was made in heat of the moment while expressing regret over his statements. He had submitted the document after the apex court sought his explanation for misquoting it.

Referring to the affidavit, the top court today said that the 22-page document contradicts itself as it includes “regret and justification, both in the reply”.

“There is clear contradiction, regret and justification in reply. You regret and then justify in reply,” the court observed.

Earlier this month, the top court had sought an explanation from Gandhi for “incorrectly” attributing his ‘chowkidar Narendra Modi chor hai’ remarks to its verdict in the Rafale case.

Addressing a elections rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi, Gandhi had said, “Supreme Court has made it clear that Chowkidar ji has committed a theft.”

In its April 19 order, the apex court had said: “We make it clear that views, observations, findings attributed to this court in the alleged speeches, remarks made by Gandhi to media/public have been incorrectly attributed to this court. We also make it clear that this court had no occasion to make such observation in as much as it was deciding legal admissibility of certain documents which were objected by the attorney general.”

“Having clarified the matter we deem it appropriate to seek an explanation of Gandhi,” the bench, also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna noted.

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