- Monday, March 03, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
It seems the ghost of the ‘all thieves have Modi surname’ remark made by Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at an election rally during India’s 2019 general polls will continue to haunt him.
A week after he was convicted by a court in the western state of Gujarat over the remark and sentenced to two years in jail and his disqualification as a parliamentarian by the Lok Sabha or Lower House of the Indian parliament, Gandhi has faced another warning of getting sued for his words by yet another Modi and he is none other than Lalit Modi, the founder of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament and its first chairman, in a court in the UK.
i see just about every Tom dick and gandhi associates again and again saying i ama fugitive of justice. why ?How?and when was i to date ever convicted of same. unlike #Papu aka @RahulGandhi now an ordinary citizen saying it and it seems one and all oposition leaders have nothing…
— Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) March 30, 2023
addresses and photos etc. lets not fool the people of india who are the real crooks. #Gandhifamily who have made it as if they the entitled ones to rule our country. yes i will return as soon as u pass stringent liable laws. ? jai-hind
— Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) March 30, 2023
not even a penny to date has been proven i took in last 15 years. but what is clearly proven i created the greatest #sporting event in this world that has generated close to 100 billion dollars. let not 1 one #congress leader forget that from early 1950's the #modi-family has…
— Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) March 30, 2023
Modi, who has been residing in London since 2010 after facing allegations of financial irregularities in the cash-rich tournament, lashed out at Gandhi and his party in a series of tweets posted on Thursday (31) saying he “looked forward to seeing him make a complete fool of himself”.
Gandhi, who was in the UK weeks ago where he criticised the Modi government in India, said at the 2019 election rally, “How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?” The target was prime minister Narendra Modi who he clubbed with fugitive Indian businessmen such as Lalit and Nirav Modi, who has also taken shelter in the UK. A lawmaker of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat, who also carries the surname of Modi, moved the court against Gandhi.
Lalit Modi questioned Gandhi’s party for calling him a “fugitive of justice” and said he was never convicted of any crime. He also said that he has created “the greatest sporting event” in the world which generated close to $100 billion and that his family has done more for India than the family of Gandhi. He challenged the former chief of the Congress to prove his allegations and said that he looked forward to seeing him make a complete fool of himself in the court.
He also called Gandhi “an ordinary citizen”.
Modi, who media reports in January said was seriously ill, also accused several leaders of the Congress of having overseas assets and said he could share addresses and photographs of their properties. The 59-year-old also said that he will return to India as soon as it passes stringent libel laws.
The Congress has been protesting against Gandhi’s conviction and disqualification and said he will appeal against it in a higher court. The Gujarat court has given him a month’s time to appeal the verdict.
Gandhi has been vocal about his criticism of prime minister Modi and his government over various issues, particularly crony capitalism.
