Cong presented Rahul Gandhi with different looks in public but that film couldn't run: Union minister Tomar

Gandhi went from being the barely stubbled, dimpled politician with neat hair to the man with overgrown salt-pepper beard during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Saturday said the Congress presented Rahul Gandhi in public with different "looks" but that "film" couldn't run, a dig coming amid celebration in the Congress camp over the Supreme Court staying Gandhi's conviction in a defamation case.

“Congress presented Rahul Gandhi in front of the public in new looks by changing his clothes several times, but that film could not run and there is no hope of it running in future also,” Tomar told reporters in Gwalior while responding to a question about jubilation in the Congress camp after the SC verdict.

The apex court stayed Gandhi's sentence in the defamation case but made no comment on the Congress leader's statement, he said.

Gandhi went from being the barely stubbled, dimpled politician with neat hair to the man with unkempt locks and an overgrown salt-pepper beard during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, drawing comparisons with Saddam Hussein, Karl Marx and even Forrest Gump.

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On Friday, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath hailed the SC ruling saying it has enhanced the people's faith and respect towards the judiciary.

The top court's order was celebrated by Congress workers in Bhopal and other parts of Madhya Pradesh.

The defamation case was filed by a Gujarat BJP MLA over Rahul Gandhi's "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" remark made during an election rally in Kolar in Karnataka more than four years ago.

A three-judge bench of the apex court, however, said the utterances were not in good taste and added that a person in public life is expected to exercise caution while making speeches.

The SC order paves the way for Rahul Gandhi's return as Wayanad MP.