Bad weather forces Rahul to cancel Almora rally, return to Delhi
Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's Almora rally was cancelled on Thursday owing to bad weather conditions in the Kumaon region.
Rahul Gandhi appeared before a court in Maharashtra’s Bhiwandi on Saturday in a defamation case that goes back to 2014.
The case stems from a remark he made during an election rally on March 6 that year. At the rally, Gandhi said: “The RSS shot Mahatma Gandhi, and now they are using his name to campaign for elections.”
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That statement triggered a private criminal complaint. A local Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary, Rajesh Kunte, alleged that the remark falsely blamed the organisation for Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination and harmed its reputation.
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Why is he in court now?
Saturday’s appearance was procedural.
Gandhi was required to sign a fresh bond and provide a new guarantor after the death of his earlier guarantor, Shivraj Patil. His counsel, Advocate Narayan Iyer, told the court that the fresh surety was necessary because Patil had passed away.
The court is expected to focus on accepting the new guarantor. No cross-examination is likely during this hearing.
How did the case reach trial?
The complaint was filed in Maharashtra soon after the 2014 rally.
In 2016, the Supreme Court allowed the case to proceed to trial. Gandhi was granted bail. The court had then observed that a trial would determine whether his statement amounted to defamation.
The matter is currently at the evidence stage. According to his lawyer, the complainant, identified as Rajesh, has already been cross-examined. A second witness, Ashok Saikar, who investigated the private complaint, has also been examined. His cross-examination under Section 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code is still pending.
What happened a day earlier?
On Friday, Gandhi also appeared before an MP/MLA court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in another defamation case linked to his alleged remarks about Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
He said the case had been filed out of “political malice”. His statement was recorded. The hearing lasted around 20 minutes. The next date is March 9.
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