New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appeared in an MP-MLA court on Friday in response to a defamation case filed against him, which he claimed was intended for “cheap publicity.” His lawyer, Kashi Prasad Shukla, stated that Gandhi had never made any remarks that could warrant a defamation suit. The complaint was filed by local BJP leader Vijay Mishra on August 4, 2018, concerning Gandhi’s alleged disparaging comments about Amit Shah during a press conference in Bengaluru in May of that year, which was during the Karnataka elections.
Mishra’s complaint cited Gandhi’s assertion that while the BJP professes to uphold honest and clean politics, its party president was an “accused” in a murder case. Shah, who was the BJP president at the time, had been cleared of charges by a special CBI court in Mumbai in 2009, related to a 2005 fake encounter case when he was Gujarat’s Minister of State for Home. The MP-MLA court in Sultanpur has scheduled the next hearing for August 12, when the petitioner’s statement will be recorded. Gandhi is not required to attend this session.
Advocate Santosh Kumar Pandey, representing Mishra, noted that Gandhi had recorded his statement and evidence would be presented on August 12. After the court proceedings, Gandhi visited a cobbler’s shop on the outskirts of Sultanpur and discussed the cobbler’s issues with him. During his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra,’ Gandhi had earlier paused in Amethi on February 20 to appear in court, where he was granted bail. On Friday, Congress supporters gathered in large numbers at the civil court in Sultanpur for Gandhi’s arrival. The court premises were heavily secured, with Gandhi appearing before the special judge in court number 15 and recording his statement.
