Bengaluru court issues summons to Rahul Gandhi, CM Siddaramaiah, DyCM Shivakumar

Bengaluru, Feb 23 (IANS) A special court in Bengaluru has issued summons to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar in a defamation case filed by the BJP. The trio has been asked to appear before the court on March 28. The case pertains to full-page advertisements released by the accused targeting the BJP government over commission charges.

The special court, handling MP/MLA cases, under Judge J. Preeth, took up a petition filed by BJP state Secretary S. Shivaprasad. The petition alleged that the accused individuals had run a campaign against the BJP government led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, highlighting the 40 per cent commission charges. As a result, the court directed to lodge a criminal case against them under Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC.

The Congress party had made the 40 per cent commission allegations against the BJP government a major campaign focus. Initially, these allegations were made through speeches, which later escalated to social media campaigns and the display of posters across the state. The court has also included the state Congress unit as a party to the case. The hearing is scheduled for March 28, where the accused parties will have to present their defense in the matter.

This development comes in the backdrop of heightened political tensions in Karnataka, with the ruling Congress party and the opposition BJP trading accusations and engaging in a war of words. The defamation case further intensifies the ongoing political rivalry between the two parties in the state.–IANS