BJP leader Khushbu Sundar in hot water over old viral tweet about Modi’s last name

New Delhi:

BJP leader Khushbu Sundar is in hot water for a 2018 tweet for a remark that got Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sentenced to two years in prison and disqualified from parliament. A congresswoman at the time, Ms Sundar had said the meaning of Modi should be changed to corruption. “Modi is everywhere, but what is it? Modi’s surname is linked to corruption,” she tweeted.

“Yahan #Modi wahan #Modi jahan dekho #Modi..lekin yeh kya?? Har #Modi ke aage #bhrashtachaar last name laga hua hai..toh baat ko no samjho..#Modi mutlab #bhrashtachaar..let’s change the meaning from #Modi to corruption…fits better…#Nirav #Lalit #Namo=corruption…”, she posted in Hindi.

yahan #Modi wow #Modi jahan dekho #Modi..lekin yeh kya?? Har #Modi how old #bhrashtachaar family name laga hua hai..toh baat ko no samjho..#Modi mutlab #bhrashtachaar..let’s change the meaning of #Modi to corruption.. better suited..#Nirav#The bed#Namo = corruption..👌👌😊😊

— KhushbuSundar (@khushsundar) February 15, 2018

Khushbu Sundar said Congress was “desperate” to release his old tweets. “The Congress party raking in one of my old tweets shows how desperate they are,” she told news agency PTI.

“I’m not ashamed of the ‘Modi’ tweet posted when I was in the Congress party. I was just following the leader then and speaking the party language,” she added.

Ms Sundar, who is also an actress and a member of the National Commission for Women (NCW), joined the BJP in 2020 after leaving Congress.

Congressman Rahul Gandhi was convicted on Thursday in a defamation case by a court in Gujarat, Prime Minister Modi’s home state. He was sentenced to two years in prison and as a result, he was disqualified as an MP the next day. He has yet to appeal the verdict to a higher court.

Congress supporters shared the screenshot of the tweet on social media, asking if Gujarat Minister Purnesh Modi, who filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi, will file a complaint against Khushbu Sundar.

The case stems from Mr Gandhi’s alleged remark at a 2019 campaign rally implying that Prime Minister Modi is a criminal. “How come all the thieves have Modi as their common surname,” he had said in Karnataka’s Kolar, leading to multiple libel suits being filed against him in various states.