BJP social media head Amit Malviya on Wednesday accused Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of contempt and urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of her comments defending her brother Rahul Gandhi over the apex court censuring him.

Another BJP Rajya Sabha member, Manan Kumar Mishra, claimed the Bar and individual lawyers would file a contempt plea against Priyanka soon for making “irresponsible statements”.

The two BJP leaders seized on the Wayanad MP’s comments on Tuesday questioning the court’s jurisdiction to decide who was a “true Indian” while firmly defending Rahul for his remarks about China squatting on Indian territory.

The Supreme Court, in an oral observation on Monday, slammed Rahul for his remark that China had occupied 2,000sqkm of Indian territory, stressing that the Opposition leader would not be saying such a thing if he were a "true Indian”.

The court, while dealing with a defamation case filed against the Congress leader, had said Rahul should have ideally raised the issue in Parliament instead of using social media to air his views.

“With due respect to the honourable judges of the Supreme Court, they do not decide who is a true Indian. It is the job of the Opposition leader to question and challenge the government,” Wayanad MP Priyanka had said on Tuesday, responding to the observations of the court.

BJP leader Malviya posted on X on Wednesday, attaching the video of Priyanka’s comments: “If the courts won’t decide who is national and who is anti-national, then who will? The smug entitlement of the Gandhi family is not just baffling — it reeks of contempt for the judiciary.

“This brazen defiance is a direct challenge to the authority of the Supreme Court and cannot go unchecked. The court must take suo motu cognisance, just as it did in the case of BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. The law must apply equally to all. The Gandhis cannot be allowed to believe they are above it.”

The Congress and some members of the Opposition INDIA bloc have also come out in defence of Rahul and labelled the Supreme Court’s observation as “unwarranted”. They underlined that political parties had the responsibility to discuss issues of national interest.

Malviya was joined by Mishra, who told ANI: “She (Priyanka) has committed contempt of court and we are going to file a contempt petition against her because she has made irresponsible statements without knowing what the court intended to say.”

Mishra, a former chairman of the Bar Council of India, claimed the petition would be filed by the Bar and individual lawyers.