Sultanpur,

20 Feb (HS): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, facing a defamation case for making

derogatory remarks about Union Home Minister Amit Shah, recorded his statement

in the local MP/MLA court on Friday. He described the incident as a case of

cheap publicity.

Leader

of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rae Bareli MP Rahul Gandhi arrived at

Lucknow Airport around 9:30 a.m. on Friday. From there, he traveled via the

Purvanchal Expressway and reached the court directly at 10:50 a.m. Rahul Gandhi

recorded his statement under Section 313 of the IPC at the local MP/MLA court.

He stated that a conspiracy has been hatched against him for cheap publicity.

He spent 20 minutes in the court. The court has scheduled the next hearing for

March 9th. Rahul Gandhi will return to Lucknow today. He was accompanied by

State Congress Committee President Ajay Rai and senior leader Pramod Tiwari.

BJP

leader Vijay Mishra, a resident of Hanumanganj in Kotwali Dehat, filed a

defamation suit against Rahul Gandhi in October 2018. Mishra alleged that Rahul

Gandhi had made derogatory remarks against then-BJP President Amit Shah during

the Karnataka election campaign in August 2018. The court proceedings in this

case have been ongoing for the past five years. In December 2023, the then

judge issued a warrant against Rahul Gandhi after he failed to appear. Subsequently,

on February 20, 2024, Rahul Gandhi surrendered in court, where the special

magistrate granted him bail on two sureties of 25,000 rupees each. According to

Santosh Pandey, the plaintiff Vijay Mishra's lawyer, witness Ram Chandra Dubey

was produced on January 6. The defense counsel completed his cross-examination.

The court has now scheduled the hearing for today in File 313.

During

this time, strict security arrangements were made in the court premises. ADM

Administration Gaurav Shukla and ASP Akhand Pratap Singh were present with a

heavy police force.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi