Bengaluru court summons Rahul Gandhi on June 7 in defamation case filed by Karnataka BJP

Rahul Gandhi, a top leader of India's opposition Congress party, was asked by a Bengaluru court on Saturday (Jun 1) to appear before it on June 7 in a defamation case filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader.

The case revolves around Congress's corruption allegations against the previous BJP government in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.

During the May 2023 state assembly elections, Congress had alleged that the BJP government in the state charged '40 per cent commission' for the execution of all public works. The party also accused the BJP of publishing a 'corruption rate card'.

Also read: In Pictures: President Murmu, Minister Jaishankar Cast Their Vote

Responding to the allegations, BJP MLC and Karnataka General Secretary Keshav Prasad filed a defamation case against Congress, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar of Karnataka.

Both Congress leaders appeared before the 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Bengaluru on Saturday and were granted bail in the case.

Rahul summoned in another case

Earlier on May 30, another court in Pune asked Gandhi to appear before it in connection with a case filed by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar's grandnephew. In the official complaint, Gandhi was accused of defaming the Hindutva ideologue while delivering a speech in London in 2023.

He has been asked to appear in person before court on August 19.

Also read: ‘Fish bones stuck in Modi-ji’s throat’: Tejashwi Yadav, Rahul Gandhi poke fun at PM Modi in viral video. Watch

The complaint says that Savarkar and his family experienced mental trauma as a result of Gandhi's deliberate and malicious accusations against them, which were meant to damage Savarkar's reputation. Even though the speech was given in England, the complaint argues that because it was widely published and circulated, Pune and India as a whole felt the impact of it.

(With inputs from agencies)