Rahul to appear before Guwahati court in defamation case

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will appear before a Guwahati court on Thursday in connection with a criminal defamation suit filed against him by the RSS.

Anjan Bora, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteer, had last year filed a case against Gandhi after the latter stoked controversy by claiming he was denied entry into the Barpeta Satra, a Vaishnava monastery in western Assam, at the behest of the RSS. Gandhi had launched the Congress’s assembly poll campaign from that monastery.

The Pradesh Congress Committee on Wednesday confirmed Gandhi’s court appearance.

“He will arrive about 9 am and proceed to the court of chief judicial magistrate Kamrup. He will have meetings with party workers before flying back to Delhi,” Congress spokesperson Apurba Bhattacharya told HT.

Read | Rahul Gandhi summoned by Assam court in defamation case

In his petition against Gandhi, Bora said the Congress vice-president had tarnished the image of the RSS by claiming Sangh members prevented his entry into the 16th century monastery before he was to launch his poll campaign on December 12. Gandhi later offered prayers at the monastery after addressing a rally in a minority village near Barpeta town that day.

But two days later in Delhi, he accused the RSS of foul play.

“When I went to Assam, I wanted to visit a temple in Barpeta but the RSS people stopped me from entering it,” he said. He also alleged that the RSS had assigned some women to prevent his entry.