Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, will appear in court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday, in a defamation case brought against him for allegedly saying offensive statements against Bharatiya Janata Party senior leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The case began in 2018, when BJP leader Vijay Mishra accused Rahul Gandhi of making insulting remarks during a press conference in Bengaluru, in which the Congress MP referred to Amit Shah as a “accused” in a murder case.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, will arrive at Lucknow Airport and then go to Sultanpur for his court appearance. He was earlier given bail in this matter on February 20, after interrupting his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ to attend court.
Special magistrate Shubham Verma has ordered Rahul Gandhi to record his statement, warning him of serious consequences if he fails to cooperate after missing 12 straight hearings. In the last hearing, Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer, Kashi Prasad Shukla, informed the court that his absence on July 2 was due to his parliamentary duties as Leader of the Opposition.