The Supreme Court of India has rebuked the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, and stayed the proceedings in the criminal defamation case against him. Expressing disapproval of his alleged comments during his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ on the 2020 Galwan Valley clash with China, the apex court made strong remarks while questioning what proof he had of the China-occupied land.
Justice Dutta asked Rahul Gandhi, “How do you get to know that 2000 square kilometres of Indian territory were occupied by the Chinese? Were you there? Do you have any credible material?” He then added, “If you were a true Indian, you would not say all this. When there is a conflict across the order, is it unusual to have casualties on both sides?”
Furthermore, Gandhi was told that, being the Leader of Opposition, he should refrain from making such comments. “Say things in Parliament, not on social media,” the Supreme Court directed. The bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh Government and the complainant Udai Shanker Srivastava in the case.
This comes after the Allahabad High Court had dismissed Gandhi’s plea in May. The Leader of Opposition had challenged his summons and argued that it was a politically motivated move and was lodged in a mala fide manner. The complainant was Udai Shanker Srivastava, who alleged that in December 2022, Gandhi made derogatory remarks about the Indian Army regarding the Galwan Valley clash with China in 2020.
What did Rahul Gandhi say in 2022?
Gandhi, during the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, addressed the face-off between the Indian Army and China in 2020 at the Arunachal Pradesh border. He said, in the presence of media, “People will ask about Bharat Jodo Yatra, here and there, Ashok Gahlot and Sachin Pilot and whatnot. But they will not ask a single question about China capturing 2000 square kilometres of Indian territory, killing 20 Indian soldiers and thrashing our soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh.”
The complainant, Udai Shanker Srivastava, said that the statement given by Rahul Gandhi was an attempt to damage the faith of the Indian population in the Indian Army, reported ANI. He claimed that the clash between the armies took place in the Yangsi region of Arunachal Pradesh. Citing Srivastava, the agency reported that the Indian Army had restrained the Chinese Army successfully from entering the territory.