Rahul Gandhi appears before Patna court, accuses Modi govt of hounding dissenters
Patna: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appeared before a court here on Saturday in connection with a defamation suit filed against him by BJP leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.
Gandhi alleged that scores were being settled in the country with anyone who raised his voice against the ruling dispensation.
"I am committed to fighting for the country's poor, farmers and workers. I have come here to express my solidarity with them," he said.
"Whoever is raising his voice in the country against the Modi government, against the BJP-RSS combine is being targeted through court cases. But my fight will continue," Gandhi told reporters before leaving the court premises.
The former Congress president surrendered before the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Kumar Gunjan and secured bail.
Gandhi, who resigned as the Congress chief earlier this week, was slapped with the defamation suit by Sushil Modi in April for asking "why all thieves have the surname Modi".
The comment was an obvious reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, absconding bank scam accused Nirav Modi and former Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi.
Several Congress workers were seen staging demonstration outside the Patna court, demanding that Gandhi withdraw his resignation as the party's president.
The Congress leader's appearance in the court comes days after he, as well as CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, pleaded not guilty in a Mumbai court in another defamation case filed against them by an RSS worker.
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China confirms its support to Pakistan during four-day conflict with India
Beijing (PTI): China, for the first time, has confirmed that it provided on-site technical support to Pakistan during the four-day conflict with India last year, official media reports here said.
China's state broadcaster CCTV on Thursday aired an interview with Zhang Heng, an engineer from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China's (AVIC) Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute, a key developer of China’s advanced fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle design.
Zhang had provided technical support to Pakistan during the four-day war last May, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported, quoting CCTV.
Pakistan's air force operates a fleet of Chinese-made J-10CE jets, produced by an AVIC subsidiary.
"At the support base, we frequently heard the roar of fighter jets taking off and the constant wail of air-raid sirens. By late morning, in May, the temperature was already approaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). It was a real ordeal for us, both mentally and physically,” Zhang said.
What drove his team was the "desire to do an even better job with on site support” and to ensure their equipment could “truly perform at its full combat potential”, Zhang told CCTV.
“That wasn’t just a recognition of the J10CE; it was also a testament to the deep bond we formed through working side by side, day in and day out,” he said.
