Manikandan made the remarks during a protest against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi. (file)
Dindigul, Tamil Nadu:
A Congress leader in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul district has been accused of allegedly threatening to cut off the tongue of the judge who pronounced the verdict against Rahul Gandhi in a 2019 criminal defamation case.
The Dindigul police on Saturday registered a case against Congress Dindigul district president Manikandan for his controversial remarks against the judge who pronounced the verdict against Rahul Gandhi.
“A case has been registered against Congress leader Manikandan under three sections, including section 153B of the IPC, for his remarks. Investigation is underway,” officials said.
Manikandan made the remarks during a protest against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul on April 6.
Manikandan said, “When we come to power, we will cut off the tongue of the judge who gave the verdict to send our leader Rahul Gandhi to jail.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi lost his membership of the lower house of parliament after he was convicted and sentenced in a 2019 criminal defamation case by a Surat court. The case pertains to a remark made using the surname ‘Modi’ while addressing a campaign event ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The case pertains to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks at a rally in Kolar, Karnataka in April 2019, in which Mr Gandhi took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying “How can all thieves be surnamed Modi?”.
Following his conviction, according to a Supreme Court ruling in 2013, Mr Gandhi was disqualified as an MP on March 24. Under the ruling, any MP or MLA convicted and sentenced to 2 years or more is automatically disqualified.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat had issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi on March 27, asking him to vacate his official bungalow following his disqualification as an MP.
According to the notice, the allotment of his government bungalow will be canceled from April 24.
In a letter dated March 28 to Deputy Secretary, MS Branch, Lok Sabha Secretariat, Rahul Gandhi said he owes the people’s mandate to the happy memories of his time spent at the bungalow.
“As an elected member of the Lok Sabha for the last four terms, it is the people’s mandate to which I owe the pleasant memories of my time spent here. Without prejudice to my rights, I would certainly like to I will follow.” In your letter,” wrote Rahul Gandhi.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)