Congress president Rahul Gandhi has a way with words - sadly to his own detriment. This week he had to finally tender an unconditional apology for attributing ‘chowkidar chor hai’ slogan made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to the Supreme Court. In an affidavit, Gandhi made it clear that what he had said was ‘unintentional’ and ‘inadvertent’. The affidavit is the second from the Congress leader. His earlier affidavit was considered unsatisfactory by the Court as the word ‘regret’ was given in the parenthesis. It gave an impression to the court that the apology was not serious. By the looks of it, Rahul is still learning the ropes in Indian politics, which takes time and understanding.

For politicians, to make incorrect or unpalatable statements in the heat of elections is fairly commonplace in India. Calling rivals names, hurling casteist slurs and the like are everyday occurrences. However, it depends on who is involved. A lesser politician misquoting an opponent is likely to be ignored by rivals, but not when you are Rahul Gandhi, the principal opponent is the country’s Prime Minister and the reference is to the nation’s highest court of law. The BJP’s past record of taking rivals making unsubstantiated claims in defamation cases is fairly common. Ask Arvind Kejriwal.

However, what is of greater concern is the fact that Rahul’s speeches have not been vetted or tempered by senior leaders in the party. After all, Congress has some of the country’s leading legal eagles in its ranks, whose job it is to tell the party president to choose his words, especially when it concerns affairs linked to the court. To make a charge against a political rival is acceptable — even if with some rancour — but it is quite another to attribute an allegation as serious as corruption to the highest court of the land. It had to have repercussions and it has. A party as well oiled and organised as the BJP, with its battery of lawyers and researchers looking to spoil an opponent’s party, needs better handling. And here Gandhi has been seen to be less than adroit. In the heat of the moment, it is likely that he said something that he did not mean to, but the fact is that some slip-ups can prove politically costly.

In this case, the Congress lawyer accepted that Gandhi had committed three errors — stating what was never said by the court, which is tantamount to contempt of court, mixing what was said by the Court with his political slogan of ‘chowkidar chor hai’ and knowing fully well that the words attributed to the Court in his statement were never spoken by any Court or judicial forum. What also angered the judges in the course of the earlier hearings was that instead of admitting his mistake — which he has done now — Gandhi sought to justify it drawing parallels with similar comments made by other political leaders.