Rahul compounded contempt, Lekhi tells SC

BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi, who filed a contempt plea against Congress party president Rahul Gandhi, on Monday told the Supreme Court he has neither apologised for attributing his remark 'PM Narendra Modi, Chowkidar chor hai' to the court nor was he remorseful for it.

What he has done is "a mere vague and half-hearted expression of regret without there being a bona fide belief of mistake," she said in her reply affidavit.

She said the Congress leader has gone on to repeatedly justify his "contemptuous statement" and intentionally chosen not to tender an apology. He has in fact compounded the contempt proceedings by making "false statements", she claimed.

She termed Rahul's response to the apex court's notice as "false, frivolous and contradictory".

Through his statements, he has "willfully and deliberately interfered with justice. His intention was to cause prejudice in the minds of the public against his political opponent, Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Lekhi said.

Rahul's contention that he made the comment in a rhetorical flourish in the heat of political campaigning does not explain his contemptuous statement, her response stated. He has even suggested that the present contempt plea was part of a political gambit against him, she pointed out.