BJP welcomes SC notice to Rahul in contempt proceedings on Rafale

New Delhi, Apr 15  :  Welcoming the Supreme Court issuing notice to Rahul Gandhi for his alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rafale issue vis-a-vis attributing words to the apex court, the BJP on Monday said the Congress president and his party stand completely exposed.
‘Rahul Gandhi speaks lies loudly and everyday. This is mischief and not ignorance,’ BJP leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.
Rahul Gandhi is defaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the institutions and this looks like a conspiracy, he said.
BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi had filed a contempt plea in the top court on Friday in which she said the Congress president has been “misinterpreting” the apex court’s ruling on the Rafale deal with France. She also had alleged that Mr Gandhi had repeatedly put his own words as the court’s verdict.
The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to Mr Gandhi and said he should respond on or before next Monday. The matter, it said, will be heard on April 23.
Mr |Javadekar said, ‘It has become a Congress habit to lie. Rahul Gandhi and Congress have become synonyms of ‘jhoot’ and ‘loot'”.
The Union Minister also maintained that Prime Minister’s credibility will not be affected by all this.
The Congress was only indulging in petty and immature politics, he alleged.
To a question, he said security, progress and leadership quality were important issues for general elections this year.
The Rafale deal was a pact between two governments and no wrongdoings took place, he said.
The Supreme Court had dismissed pleas to probe Rafale fighter jet deal with France, blunting the opposition’s attack on Mr Modi in the multi-billion-dollar purchase.
The apex court had in December said that there will be no court-monitored probe into the Rafale deal.
In its observation the Supreme Court on Monday said, “We make it clear that views, observations, findings attributed to this court in the alleged speeches, remarks made by (Rahul) Gandhi to media or public have been incorrectly attributed to this court”.
“We also make it clear that this court had no occasion to make such observation,” the media reports said quoting the court’s ruling.
Ms Lekhi has told reporters on Friday: “……this is not only contempt but a criminal contempt of court. That is misquoting, misrepresenting the facts in public and making allegations and accusations about the Supreme Court order and it is for this reason the contempt has been filed today”.
On Monday, Ms Lekhi welcomed the process of justice and said, “It’s about dragging the Supreme Court to a political battle and dragging down the dignity of the court”.
The ruling BJP on Friday had launched two-pronged attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his repeated ‘chowkidar chor hai’ scathing criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought intervention of the Election Commission on the matter.
Earlier in the day, to mount pressure on Mr Gandhi, BJP lawmaker Meenakshi Lekhi approached the Supreme Court with a plea to initiate contempt proceedings against the Congress leader.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also told reporters “We feel let down” that Election Commission chose to look the other way in spite of “our earlier complaints against Rahul Gandhi on the same issue”.
A BJP delegation comprising Union Ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Ms Sitharaman, Nalin Kohli and Anil Baluni met the poll panel and made a submission on the issue.
UNI.