Imprison or censure Rahul Gandhi, Meenakshi Lekhi tells SC

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party MP Meenakshi Lekhi, who had moved a petition in the Supreme Court accusing Congress president Rahul Gandhi of contempt for allegedly attributing the chowkidar chor hai remark to the top court, on Friday urged the court to reject his “belated” “unconditional apology” and instead punish him by way of “imprisonment, censure or admonition”.

Gandhi had tendered an “unconditional apology” to the court after a bench led by CJI Ranjan Gogoi rejected his explanation that he had said it in a rhetorical flourish during the heat of elections.

Lekhi’s counsel senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said that the apology was belated and therefore the court must not accept it. “The court cornered him and therefore he apologised,” he charged.