New Delhi, Feb 20 (IANS) Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday departed from Lucknow airport for the Sultanpur District Court in Uttar Pradesh amid heavy security to record his statement in a defamation case linked to remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

According to party leaders, Gandhi was scheduled to reach the civil court around 10.50 a.m. Congress Uttar Pradesh State President Ajay Rai said, “He has to go to the Sultanpur court. The date is today, and he will personally appear in court. Many people, including party workers, are coming and will meet him.”

Congress leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh added, “Rahul Gandhi is about to arrive in Lucknow from Delhi airport. From here, he will go to the Sultanpur court to appear in a case and participate in the proceedings. After that, he will return to Lucknow and then fly back to Delhi.”

The appearance comes after Gandhi did not attend a previous hearing before the MP-MLA court in Sultanpur on January 19, prompting the court to fix February 20 as the next date.

The defamation case was filed in October 2018 by local BJP member Vijay Mishra from the Hanumanganj area in Kotwali Dehat, Sultanpur district. Mishra alleged that during a campaign in Karnataka in August 2018, Gandhi made derogatory remarks about Amit Shah, who was then the BJP president. The complainant cited Rahul Gandhi’s statement, during which he had said that while the BJP professes a commitment to honest and clean politics, it is led by a “party president who is an accused in a murder case”.

The court in Sultanpur granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in February 2024 in the case.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Giriraj Singh criticised the Congress leader, saying, “His irresponsible behaviour, anti-India statements, and criticism of India’s development clearly reflect his mindset, that he has developed an anti-India mentality. It is hard to understand whether he stands with India or against it.”

Security was tightened in and around the court premises as party workers gathered in support of the Congress leader.

–IANS

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