Rahul Gandhi Cleared in Amit Shah Defamation Case
Congress leaders on Sunday celebrated after a special MP-MLA court acquitted Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case linked to remarks he made in 2018 against Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The leaders said the verdict vindicated their position.
Congress MP Pawan Khera said the party welcomed the court's order and its remarks. He said the court had termed the statement made against Amit Shah as non-defamatory, and that the party fully supported the decision.
Khera also defended Mallikarjun Kharge over his controversial remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the BJP's reaction to the remark exposed its intellectual and moral bankruptcy. He pointed to what he called constant derogatory comments against Sonia Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Rahul Gandhi, and said such statements had even come from the prime minister's level. He added that BJP leaders reacted as though stung whenever Kharge spoke about the RSS, and said they should first examine their own conduct.
Congress MP Karamveer Singh Bauddh thanked the court and the Constitution of India. He said the battle to defend the Constitution was ongoing and that Rahul Gandhi was fighting for it. Bauddh claimed that FIRs were being filed deliberately to stop and harass leaders who trust the Constitution. He described all 40 to 42 FIRs against Rahul Gandhi as illegal and said they had been registered under pressure. He said Rahul Gandhi was highly educated, understood the law and knew his limits.
On Rahul Gandhi's other cases, Bauddh said the party had set out with a mission of 'shop of love' and brotherhood. He asked whether anyone had been seriously injured during recent Delhi protests, or whether any shopkeeper had been attacked or any violence had been witnessed. He said the party believed in the Constitution and that the verdict was a triumph of truth, adding that all remaining cases would be dismissed in the same way.
Congress leader Umang Singhar said cases are routine in politics. He said Rahul Gandhi was fighting for the common man and that the court had concluded the case was wrong. On Kharge's remark, Singhar questioned whether it was fair for BJP leaders to make controversial statements about Rahul Gandhi and to call him an 'urban Naxal'. He also asked why the BJP was reluctant to discuss EVMs and ballot papers.
Samajwadi Party leader ST Hasan said the ruling party was trying every means to trouble the opposition, which he called a wrong trend of the present era. He said differences of opinion were once normal, but personal hostility was not, and now both are being seen. He said the court had separated truth from falsehood.