Bihar Deputy CM to file defamation case against Rahul for calling all Modis as thieves

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday announced that he will file a defamation case against Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his alleged "all thieves have Modi in their surnames" comment.

"I will file a defamation case against Rahul Gandhi in Patna High Court within two days," Modi told reporters here.

The BJP leader claimed that Gandhi has hurt the sentiments of crores of people with Modi surname. The Deputy Chief Minister said, "He (Rahul Gandhi) has referred to crores of people with 'Modi' surname as 'chor' and hurt their sentiments."

He asked whether it is a crime to have used the title. "Is it a crime to have 'Modi' surname?" he asked. Rahul Gandhi, while addressing a rally in Maharashtra on Monday, asked how come all "thieves" have Modi as the common surname as he attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of corruption.

"But tell me one thing...Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi...how come they all have Modi as a common name. How come all the thieves have Modi as the common name?" Gandhi had asked.

In a separate case, the Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Congress president on a petition filed against him by BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi for allegedly making contemptuous remarks in connection with its order on the admissibility of the certain document in the Rafale deal.

The contempt petition accused Rahul Gandhi of misquoting the order when he said the apex court had accepted that "chowkidar" (a reference to PM Narendra Modi), is a "chor (thief)".