Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is to appear in a local court in Bihar on July 6 in connection with a defamation case filed against him by senior State BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi over the “Modi” surname jibe made during the Lok Sabha election campaign.
The former Congress president may also visit Muzaffarpur to meet the family members of those children who died of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) recently.
State Congress president Madan Mohan Jha confirmed Mr. Gandhi’s visit. “But details of his tour programme in the State have not been confirmed yet,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi, while addressing an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, allegedly said: “Be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi all has a common surname…why all thieves have a common surname?”. Mr. Sushil Kumar Modi found Mr. Gandhi’s statement “offensive and derogatory” and had filed a defamation case under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code against him in a local court in Patna on April 18. He had also sought an apology from Mr. Gandhi.
‘Tejashwi must quit’
Meanwhile, some State Congress leaders on Thursday sought the resignation of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav from the post of the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly for the election debacle. “Following the example of our party president Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, who was the face of the Opposition and led its campaign during the last Lok Sabha poll in Bihar, too should step down from the post of Opposition leader in the Assembly,” State Congress leader Rajesh Kumar said.
Rejecting the demand, RJD leader and party spokesperson Bhai Birendra said: “Tejashwi is not a leader who will leave the responsibility of leading the Opposition mid-way.”
After a prolonged absence, Mr. Yadav attended the Assembly on Thursday but did not speak to the media. Earlier, he had tweeted to say that he was absent for long as he was undergoing treatment for a “ligament and ACL injury”. However, the ruling NDA leaders have been taking pot-shots over his prolonged absence.
