Patna, Apr 27 (Agencies): Congress president Rahul Gandhi has landed in trouble over his 'Chowkidar chor hai' slogan targetting Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the election season.
On Saturday April 27, a complaint was filed against Rahul Gandhi in a local court in Bihar alleging that the Congress president, by making people at a rally in Samastipur district chant 'Chowkidar chor hai', had committed an act that was tantamount to 'sedition'.
The complaint has been filed by Satyavrat, a local advocate.
The complaint also names RJD leader Tejaswi Prasad Yadav, who shared the stage with Rahul Gandhi at the rally, as a co-accused. A couple of news channels and the district magistrate concerned have been named as witnesses.
The complainant has sought registration of case under sections 124(A) and 505(1) of IPC which pertain to sedition and causing fear and alarm among public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the state.
The complaint was filed in the court of Chief Judicial Magsitrate Shailendra Kumar Sharma and will be heard on April 29, the advocate said adding that he was deeply hurt when he watched Gandhi asking the crowd to chant the slogan.
Rahul Gandhi has been using the slogan at public meetings for quite some time to allege that financial irregularities have taken place in the Rafale deal.
The word chowkidar gained prominence when Prime Minister Narendra Modi used it during the 2014 election campaign to convey that he saw himself as a watchman who guarded the country.
In response to the Congress president Rahul Gandhi's jibe, the BJP has launched a 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' campaign as part of which all senior leaders of the party and many supporters have prefixed chowkidar to their names on social media platforms.