Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has strongly defended her brother Rahul Gandhi following the Supreme Court’s remark that “a true Indian will not say all this,” in reference to his comments on Chinese incursions and the Indian Army.
“With due respect to the honourable judges, they do not decide who a true Indian is,” Priyanka said on Tuesday outside Parliament. “It is the duty of the Leader of the Opposition to question the government.” She added that Rahul Gandhi holds the armed forces in the “highest respect,” and termed the criticism a “misinterpretation.”
The remark from the apex court came during the hearing of a defamation case related to Rahul’s 2022 Bharat Jodo Yatra statement, where he alleged that China had captured 2,000 sq km of Indian territory and thrashed Indian soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh.
A Supreme Court bench, while halting criminal proceedings against Rahul, questioned the basis of his statements and asked, “Were you there? How did you get to know that 2,000 square kilometres has been captured?” It also advised that such comments, if at all, should be made in Parliament, not via media or social media.
Rahul’s counsel, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, argued that the Congress MP was exercising his constitutional right to free speech and had only sought to prompt national debate on issues of sovereignty and security.
Leaders of the INDIA bloc called the court’s observation “unwarranted.” Congress’s social media head Supriya Shrinate stated, “When a government fails spectacularly to defend borders, it is every citizen’s duty to hold it accountable.”
The complainant in the case is Uday Shankar Srivastava, a retired BRO director, who claimed the remarks defamed the army. The Supreme Court has agreed to examine whether the complainant qualifies as an aggrieved party in a case alleging collective defamation of the armed forces.
