'Not happening for first time': Rijiju on Cong leader threatening judge to 'chop off' tongue

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday slammed Congress after its party worker in Tamil Nadu threatened to chop off the tongue of the judge who convicted Rahul Gandhi in a 2019 defamation case.

"This is not happening for the first time that Congress is threatening the judiciary. Even before the Emergency, the Congress people attacked the Judiciary. They are doing it now also because they are frustrated. We believe in the Constitution," ANI quoted Rijiju in a tweet.

A Congress leader in Tamil Nadu said that once the party came to power, they would 'cut off the tongue' of the judge who sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case.

A video clip, shared by former BJP and current AIADMK member Nirmal Kumar, showed the Congress leader issuing the threat. Meanwhile, a case has been registered under three sections against him for his remark and an investigation has been initiated by the Dindigul Police.

"The Surat court judge gave two years' prison term for our leader Rahul Gandhi. Listen Justice H Varma, when the Congress comes to power, we will chop off your tongue," Manikandan the district head of the party can be heard saying in the video clip.

Gandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha last month after his conviction by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case. Announcing his disqualification in a notification, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said that it is effective from March 23, the day of his conviction.

The Surat court sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail in a defamation case filed on the basis of a complaint by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi for the Congress leader's remark "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" while delivering a speech in 2019.

However, the lower court had granted him bail for 30 days to appeal the verdict.

With inputs from agencies