Guwahati, Mar 25 (IANS): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is facing the consequences of being arrogant instead of apologising for the remarks on Modi surname in Karnataka in 2019, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said here on Saturday.

Interacting with media persons, Sarma said, "If only Rahul Gandhi had tendered an apology, the matter would have been closed there and then. Not only did he refuse to comment but not even once in the past five years did he say that the comment was 'unintentional'. This proves that his intent was to target that community."

He further said that BJP did not need any apology but he should have apologised to the OBC community.

"Rahul Gandhi could have issued an apology to the OBC community. But he has not done that and behaved arrogantly. Hence the court has to draw a balance between his arrogance and pride of the OBC community," Sarma commented.

The Assam Chief Minister further said that the Congress leader was not disqualified by the Centre but convicted by a court of law for insulting the OBC community.

He said, "In his speech, Rahul Gandhi used unparliamentary and defamatory words against the OBC community. Now, the court has held him guilty, and as a consequence of the pronouncement of the judgement, he has been subsequently disqualified from Lok Sabha."

According to Sarma, the judgement was not given in a hurry, like in one or two months. It was produced after a prolonged process.

He said that after Rahul Gandhi's Karnataka election speech nearly five years ago, cases were lodged against him in various parts of the country, including one in Arunachal Pradesh as well.

"Sometimes slips of the tongue happen. Rahul Gandhi should have offered an apology immediately after the speech. This happens to us too. But what we do is issue an apology and say that the comment was unintentional," Sarma added.

However, the Assam Chief Minister said that the Congress leader could approach the higher court, challenging the verdict.