AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi is likely to appear before the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate here on Thursday responding to the court’s summon regarding a defamation suit filed against the Gandhi scion.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) vice-president Apurba Bhattacharyya said that Rahul Gandhi is likely to arrive in the State around 9.30 am on Thursday morning and head directly to the CJM court in Guwahati.
“After his appearance in the court, he is expected to address some of the party workers at a location close to the court. After this, he is scheduled to visit the Rajiv Bhavan, the Congress headquarters in city and would fly back to Delhi the same evening,” Bhattacharyya said on on Wednesday.
It may be mentioned here that an RSS member had filed a defamation suit against Rahul Gandhi after the later made a controversial comment against the RSS during his visit to Barpeta Satra, a Vaishnavite religious institution in Assam’s Barpeta town.
On December 12 last year, Gandhi was supposed to visit the Barpeta Satra and take part in a road show of Congress workers. On his arrival in the Barpeta town, Gandhi went to the Satra to pay his respect but did not enter the shrine and instead directly went to the road show and took part in it. However, later while addressing the media in New Delhi, Gandhi told that RSS had prevented him from entering the Vaishnavite shrine. He had also told the media that RSS had also encouraged women to prevent him from entering the Satra.
RSS volunteer Anjan Bora later filed a defamation suit against Gandhi claiming that Gandhi had tarnished the image of Satra. Bora said that lots of people including women and children had been waiting for Rahul Gandhi in the Satra but Gandhi instead went to the road show organised nearby making the women and children wait for long.
The court has examined several witnesses including the management committee that runs the administration and affairs in the 16th century Vaishnavite institution and asked the Gandhi scion to appear in the court on September 29.