Rahul Gandhi

Surat Court, on Thursday, awarded two-year jail term to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case for his ‘all thieves have Modi surname’ remark. The case was filed against Gandhi for his alleged ‘how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?’ remarks on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.

The Court also imposed a fine of ₹15,000 after finding him guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (dealing with defamation). However, he secured a bail in the same case. 

Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Verma heard the final arguments regarding Gandhi’s 2019 remark, “Why all the thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi have Modi in their names.” Gandhi’s counsel Kirit Panwala said, “We will today send a message to Rahul Gandhi to remain present on March 23 in Surat district court. Most probably, he would be present in the court. We will get confirmation on Saturday.”

Gandhi made the alleged remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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Rahul Gandhi

Surat Court held Congress MP Rahul Gandhi guilty in a defamation case for his ‘all thieves have Modi surname’ remark. The case was filed against Gandhi for his alleged ‘how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?’ remarks on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.

Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Verma heard the final arguments regarding Gandhi’s 2019 remark, “Why all the thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi have Modi in their names.” Gandhi’s counsel Kirit Panwala said, “We will today send a message to Rahul Gandhi to remain present on March 23 in Surat district court. Most probably, he would be present in the court. We will get confirmation on Saturday.”

Gandhi had last appeared before the Surat court in the case, filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (dealing with defamation), in October 2021 to record his statement. Gandhi made the alleged remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Also read: 900 accidents, 31 deaths in 100 days: Samruddhi Mahamarg still a road to prosperity?

Samruddhi Mahamarg has witnessed 900 accidents and 31 deaths in 100 days since its inauguration in December last year.

On an average, the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway, officially known as the Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Samruddhi Mahamarg, has reported one accident in every two days since its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December last year.

Now, it has come to light that there were 900 accidents and 31 deaths in 100 days of its inauguration. The ambitious expressway, which was touted as the ‘road to prosperity’ by PM Modi might be turning into a nightmare or can one say – it has already turned into one?

What’s missing?

With repeated fatalities occurring on the expressway, it’s about time, the The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) identifies and fixes the lacunas on priority. Some of the probable loopholes that might have contributed to repeated accidents may include lack of timely medical facilities, highway hypnosis, repeated animal run-overs due to absence of channel fencing, no check for over speeding, bursting of worn-out tyres, absence of ‘vehicle-fitness’ booths at entry and exit points, absence of highway cops and officials of Regional Transport Office (RTO), absence of road reflectors, counselling booths for drivers, emergency car repair centre, no checking of overloaded vehicles, to name a few.

Million dollar dream project turned delight into sheer nightmare 

Moreover, the expressway still lacks basic facilities for the driver like eateries, toilets or even refreshment space, which some have pointed out is one of the many reasons behind hundreds of accidents in just three months.

Despite the absence of any major engineering issues and with limited traffic, the million dollar dream project seems to have turned delight into sheer nightmare for commuters. Also, not much could be assured by the government for women safety on the newly-commissioned expressway so far.

Gadkari’s take

In just 18 days of its inauguration last year, at least 40 accidents on the expressway had occurred that claimed seven lives and left 33 injured. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari recently admitted that the current emergency response system was inadequate and subsequently announced a plan to improve the same.

Gadkari emphasised the state government will ensure ambulances that are equipped with necessary facilities and tools to rescue injured commuters from vehicles along with provision of skilled manpower.

He assured that in case of emergency, an ambulance will reach the location within 20 minutes of receiving a call for help in the control room. He also admitted that the system currently working on the expressway is not as effective as it should be.

Considered as a pet-project of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Samruddhi Mahamarg, ahead of its inauguration, had grabbed headlines for the BJP ‘taking Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) credit’ for the expressway.

Did PM Modi hurriedly inaugurate the expressway? 

However, the project was conceptualised and construction for the same began when Fadnavis was the Chief Minister. Despite several claims by Fadnavis and Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule of the BJP implementing the project, the controversy that PM Modi ‘hurriedly’ inaugurated the ‘incomplete expressway’ still continues to simmer in the minds of many.

PM Modi, on December 11, inaugurated the Phase-I of 701km-long six-lane Samruddhi Mahamarg – covering a distance of 520 kms and connecting Nagpur and Shirdi.

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