Obama faces lawsuit for ‘humiliating’ Indian politicians in latest book

Lawyer claims that ex-US president’s memoir contain derogatory remarks against Congress leaders

A lawyer in India's Uttar Pradesh state has filed a civil lawsuit against former United States president Barack Obama, claiming that he has insulted Indian politicians in his latest book.

Obama, in his memoir ‘A Promised Land’, wrote that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had picked Manmohan Singh for the post of prime minister “because he posed no threat to her son Rahul Gandhi, whom she was grooming to be her heir,” according to India Today.

Gyan Prakash Shukla, national president of All India Rural Bar Association, has filed the case in a local court in UP, which is fixed for hearing on December 1.

The lawyer has pleaded that an FIR be lodged against the former US president as the book “insults” the leaders and hurts the sentiments of their followers.

Obama’s claims about Manmohan and Rahul are humiliating and an attack on the sovereignty of the country, Shukla said in his application.

He further added that millions of supporters of the Congress leaders are offended by Obama’s remarks and they could take to the streets and stage a protest outside the US embassy if the case is not registered.

Obama has remembered Manmohan Singh, the former prime minister of India, as a “man with uncommon wisdom” and he has also mentioned that Singh owed his position to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

About Rahul, Obama has written, “Rahul Gandhi has a nervous, unformed quality about him, as if he were a student who'd done the coursework and was eager to impress the teacher but deep down lacked either the aptitude or the passion to master the subject.”

The article originally published by India Today