- Rahul Gandhi’s allegations on Chinese incursion were criticised by the Supreme Court bench today
- The court put on hold a defamation case against Mr Gandhi but questioned his evidence and timing of remarks
- Judges said freedom of speech does not allow unsubstantiated claims during border conflicts
The Supreme Court's remarks on Rahul Gandhi on his allegations about the Chinese incursion "gave a wrong message", Congress's Manickam Tagore told NDTV in an exclusive interview today. Such language, he added, is usually used by the political leadership "when we ask the government some questions which is not acceptable to them".
"To the elected representatives when inside the chamber of parliament -- we can call anybody anti-national. Judges also -- we can question their loyalty to the nation," he said. "But that is not the right way to see the Constitution," he added.
While the top court's order has been positive for Mr Gandhi and the Opposition, the words of the judges have been taken up and spread by the BJP's IT Cell, creating a different impression, the Congress MP said.
The top court -- which put a freeze on a defamation case against Mr Gandhi earlier today --nevertheless had harshly criticised his comment made during Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2022 that "Chinese troops are thrashing Indian soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh" and that "2,000 sq km of Indian territory has since been occupied by China".
The bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and AG Masih questioned if Mr Gandhi has any evidence to back up his claims and questioned why he did not make these comments in parliament.
"A true Indian will not say this. When there is a conflict across border, can you say all this. Why can't you ask the question in parliament? Just because you have (Article) 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech) you cannot say anything," the judges said.
Asked about the BJP's allegation that Mr Gandhi "gets energised by views of outside forces", Mr Tagore said politics has changed in terms using "extreme words" that were avoided in the conservative system.
"The lighter diplomatic words" do not stay in your memory," Mr Tagore said. "You always forget the words which has been told in very sober languages... We need to use strong words," he added.
