Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah, D K Shivakumar Summoned In Defamation Case Filed By BJP

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was disqualified as an MP following a conviction in a defamation case, along with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar has been summoned by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in another defamation case.

The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, the special court exclusively to deal with criminal cases related to elected former and sitting MPs/MLAs, has taken cognisance of the offences under Sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code. The complaint has been filed by state BJP state secretary Keshavaprasad on May 9 over the "40 per cent corruption" allegations against the saffron party, PTI reported.

According to the complaint, the advertisement released by the KPCC in major newspapers on May 5, 2023, in the run-up to the Assembly election claiming that the then incumbent BJP government indulged in "40 per cent corruption" and had looted Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the previous four years was "baseless, prejudiced and defamatory".

The court posted the case for recording the sworn statement on July 27.

In the recently-held Karnataka elections, Congress targeted the BJP on corruption issues where it accused the BJP of demanding a 40 per cent commission. It all started after a contractor died in April 2022 where the victim alleged the then state minister KS Eshwarappa of demanding a 40 per cent commission for a government project.

Several contractors made similar allegations against government officials.

It may be recalled that a metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat on March 23 sentenced the former Congress President to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in a 2019 case filed Gujarat MLA Purnesh Modi.

Following the verdict, Gandhi, elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala in 2019, was disqualified as a Member of Parliament under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.