Rahul Gandhi extends unconditional apology for attributing ‘chowkidar chor hai’ to Supreme Court 

Rahul Gandhi.

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday, extended an unconditional apology to the Supreme Court for attributing his “chowkidar chor hai” jibe to the court after its Rafale judgment. BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi had filed a “contempt of court” case against Gandhi after Gandhi apparently said, “… the Supreme Court (by accepting that it will review its earlier verdict on pleas seeking Rafale probe) has said ‘chowkidar chor hai’.” “Chowkidar” is the term used for the prime minister, Narendra Modi, after he used it for himself in his election campaign in 2014.

After a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi rejected Gandhi’s earlier apology, which was expressed as “regret”, Gandhi filed a fresh affidavit with an unconditional apology to the Supreme Court in a contempt case against him. The court had earlier pulled him up and asked him to accept his mistake.

In his affidavit, he said, “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 Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

He also said that he holds the Supreme Court in “highest esteem” and has sought closure of contempt proceedings against him. His affidavit further added: “Deponent unconditionally apologizes for the wrongful attributions to this Hon'ble Court. The deponent further states that any such attributions were entirely unintentional, non-wilful and inadvertent.”

However, he also said that he and Congress will continue with the “chowkidar chor hai” campaign against Modi. Gandhi coined the slogan during an election campaign in 2018.

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