Rahul Gandhi peddling lies, lost credibility: Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi, Apr 22: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday slammed Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for repeating 'chowkidar chor' jibe in Amethi rally, hours after he apologised to Supreme Court over the remark.

In a press conference, Sitharaman, said, "Rahul's credibility has taken a beating. People in public life to generously go on saying untruth & to repeat it is a matter of grief. I feel sorry that President of a national party like Congress depends only on falsehood."

BJP also demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi and said he is "liar of the first order" in public opinion.

BJP spokesperson G V L Narsimha Rao said, "Today, by filing an affidavit in the honourable SC, Rahul Gandhi accepted that he had lied on his allegations against PM Modi on the Rafale deal."

"This was an attempt by Rahul Gandhi to manufacture a lie and create a controversy in the Rafale deal... He should apologise to the people of this country," he added. "In public opinion, Rahul Gandhi is a liar of the first order," Rao said.

Rahul Gandhi on Monday expressed "regret" over his 'chowkidar chor hai' jibe against the Prime Minister and gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court that he will not attribute any views to the court in his political addresses unless there are specific orders.

Submitting his affidavit in response to the criminal contempt petition moved by BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi in the top court, Gandhi accepted that the words were never used by the court and his attribution came in the heat of the moment when he was campaigning in Amethi.

A day before the Supreme Court is to hear this matter, his affidavit also sought to point out how Modi and the BJP have used the court orders in the Rafale case to gain political mileage.