Sushil Kumar Modi filing a defamation suit against the Congress president

Patna, Apr 18 Rahul Gandhi was on Thursday dragged to court over his "why all criminals have Modi in their name" comment, with Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi filing a defamation suit against the Congress president.

The senior BJP leader filed a criminal complaint before the court of Patna Chief Judicial Magistrate Kumar Gujnan under Section 500 of IPC (punishment for defamation) against Gandhi for his remark at a rally in Maharashtra which he guaranteed was slanderous to the general population with Modi surname.

Sushil Kumar Modi said in his request that he "felt hurt" by Gandhi's "clearing comments" at the April 13 rally, which was broadcast live on TV news channels, as it discolored the notoriety of the individuals who shared the surname, including himself.

The matter will come up for hearing on April 22.

Gandhi had on Monday assaulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over corruption and asked how all "thieves" have 'Modi' as the regular surname as he alluded to fugitive businessman Nirav Modi and former IPL chairman Lalit Modi.

"I have a question. Why all criminals have Modi in their names whether it is Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi? We don't have the foggiest idea what number of all the more such Modis will come out," Gandhi had said.

Soon after, the Bihar leader had threatened to sue the Congress chief, saying lakhs of people in the state had Modi as their surname and they felt hurt by his remark.