Sultanpur,

26 July (HS): Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, appeared before the MP-MLA

court here on Friday for a defamation hearing. The court set August 12 as the

next day of hearing in the matter, when the petitioner's statement will be recorded.

According

to court officials, Gandhi does not need to appear in court again on that day.

Abhishek

Singh Rana, Congress district president, confirmed that Gandhi, the Leader of

the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, appeared in court. On August 4, 2018, Vijay

Mishra, a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, filed a defamation lawsuit

against Gandhi for allegedly uttering unpleasant remarks about then-BJP

president and current Home Minister Amit Shah.

The

judge granted Gandhi bail in this matter on February 20.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi / Manoj Kumar Tayal