Jabalpur: Congress president Rahul Gandhi stirred up controversy for referring to BJP president as “murder accused Amit Shah” during a poll campaign in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur. Congress President Rahul Gandhi called Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah a “murder accused” on Tuesday, prompting the saffron party leader to question his knowledge of legal matters, PTI reported.

Speaking at an election rally in Jabalpur, Mr Gandhi said, "Murder accused BJP President Amit Shah....waah! kya shaan hai (Wow, what majesty)... Have you heard Jay Shah's name? He is a magician; he made Rs. 50,000 into Rs. 80 crore in 3 months."

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Rahul’s comments come at a day when the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a contempt notice to Congress president after he wrongly attributed his remarks on Rafale verdict to the apex court. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for April 30. Mr Shah was named in a case involving the alleged fake encounter of a gangster, Sohrabuddin Sheikh, which took place in 2005.

In 2014, a special court discharged Shah in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounter killing cases, ruling that there was “no case” against him and that he had been implicated for “political reasons”. Sheikh, a wanted criminal, was killed in an alleged encounter in November 2005. His wife was allegedly raped and killed three days later.  Last year, the Bombay High Court dismissed a petition against the CBI's decision to not challenge the trial court's order discharging Mr Shah.

Asked about Mr Gandhi's remarks, the BJP chief told reporters: “Let me tell you the gist of the order,” “I was slapped with a fake case and the court has already passed its order that it was a politically motivated allegation and was without any evidence. I do not want to make any comment on the legal knowledge of Rahul Gandhi.”

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