Complaint filed against Rahul over Modi surname jibe

A defamation complaint has been filed against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a Bulandshahr court over his remarks why all "thieves" share the "Modi" surname.

Citing Gandhi's statement, which was made at a public meeting and carried widely in the media, Jagdeep Kumar Modi, a resident of Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, filed the complaint on Monday.

He said Gandhi's comment during a rally had dealt a blow to his and his family's reputation as many people made fun of him.

"Gandhi made the statement with an aim to defame those with the Modi surname despite knowing that it is untrue," he said, claiming that it is a punishable offence.

The complainant has urged the court to take appropriate action against the Congress chief.

In the rally in Maharashtra's Nanded district on Monday, Gandhi had cited names of fugitive businessman Nirav Modi and former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, and also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi with "chowkidar chor hai" jibe.

He then went on to ask why all thieves share the Modi surname.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi had on Tuesday threatened to file a defamation case against Congress president Gandhi over his comment.