In a defamation action brought by the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka court on the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was granted bail for releasing slanderous advertising alleging corruption in the BJP administration during the 2019–2023 term.
In connection with a complaint filed by the Karnataka branch of the BJP for placing “defamatory” advertisements in major newspapers, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was granted bail by a special court here on Friday.
According to PTI, the advertisement released prior to the 2018 Assembly elections charged the state’s then-BJP government of wide spread corruption throughout its 2019–2023 administration.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar—who also happens to be the State Congress chief—were granted bail by the court on June 1 after they appeared before it about the defamation case, according to PTI.
Gandhi was told by Judge K N Shivakumar to come into the courtroom on June 7th, no matter what. The Congressman appeared in court in February regarding the slander lawsuit and was given bail.
BJP politician Vijay Mishra filed the complaint against Gandhi. Gandhi had to postpone his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Amethi after a warrant was issued against him in December of last year. On February 20, he appeared in court and was given bail.
The allegation was based on statements Gandhi made in May 2018, during the Karnataka elections, at a news conference in Bengaluru. In his remarks, Gandhi alluded to the BJP’s insistence on maintaining integrity in politics in spite of having a party head who faces murder charges.
Gandhi made his comments while Amit Shah was the head of the BJP.
In 2005, Shah served as Gujarat’s Minister of State for Home until being cleared of all charges in a fictitious encounter case by a special CBI court in Mumbai, four years prior to Gandhi’s statements.
D K Shivakumar, the other accuser in the BJP defamation case, said that the saffron party exploited “Rahul Gandhi’s name to gain publicity.”
Bengaluru Court.
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, was granted bail by a special court in Bengaluru on Friday in connection with a defamation lawsuit brought by the Karnataka branch of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The case stemmed from the publication of advertising in local newspapers last year that portrayed the Bharatiya Janata Party as corrupt.
Based on a summons that the court had sent out on June 1, Rahul Gandhi showed up in the special court on Friday morning. On June 1, bail was granted to Congressman D K Shivakumar and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the other suspects in the case.
On June 1, the BJP Karnataka branch requested the issuing of a non-bailable warrant for Rahul Gandhi’s non-appearance, notwithstanding the Congress party officials’ contention that Gandhi had nothing to do with the party’s printing of advertising in Karnataka. Rahul Gandhi’s attendance was postponed on that day by the court, although it mandated his presence on June 7.
Congressmen including Siddaramaiah, Rahul Gandhi, and Shivakumar allegedly called the BJP government’s leadership in the state from 2019 to 2023 corrupt. On May 8, 2023, S Keshava Prasad, the general secretary of the Karnataka BJP, filed a private complaint with the court. By alleging that the leadership of the saffron party had set prices for various posts in the state, such as Rs 2,500 crore for the chief minister’s job and Rs 500 crore for a minister’s post, Prasad claimed the Congress was defaming the BJP and encouraging corruption in government.
In his lawsuit, Keshava claimed that the Congress had also run newspaper ads on May 5, 2023, alleging fees of up to 75% in Covid kit tender agreements, 40% in PWD bids, and 30% in subsidies to religious groups and other similar transactions. “An insult to the BJP party during the elections,” he called the accusations.
On March 11, 2024, the leaders of the Congress received a summons from the special court. Via an attorney, Rahul Gandhi informed the court that he had requested a June date but was unable to appear in person because of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Shivakumar stated that the BJP included “Rahul Gandhi’s name to gain publicity.”
