Sultanpur special judge on leave, hearing not held in defamation case against Rahul Gandhi
Sultanpur (UP) (PTI): Hearing in a defamation case involving senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi could not be held in the MP-MLA court in Sultanpur on Monday as the special judge was on leave.
Gandhi's advocate Kashi Prasad Shukla said as Special Judge Shubham Verma was on leave, no hearing could take place.
August 23 has been fixed as the next date of hearing, he added.
On July 26, Gandhi appeared before the MP-MLA court here in a defamation case against him and said it was filed to gain "cheap publicity".
According to Shukla, the Congress MP, who appeared before the special judge, said he never made a statement against anyone that could lead to a case of defamation against him.
The court had fixed August 12 as the date of hearing.
Local BJP leader Vijay Mishra had filed a complaint on August 4, 2018, against Gandhi for his alleged objectionable comments against Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a press conference in Bengaluru in May of that year during the Karnataka assembly elections.
The complainant referred to Gandhi's comment that the BJP claims to believe in honest and clean politics but has a party president who is an "accused" in a murder case. Shah was the BJP president when Gandhi made the comment.
About four years before Gandhi's remark, a special CBI court in Mumbai had discharged Shah in a 2005 fake encounter case when he was a minister of state for home in Gujarat.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Shivakumar’s CM aspiration natural, high command will decide: Parameshwara
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Saturday that Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, as the state Congress president, naturally aspires to become chief minister. However, he added that the final decision rests with the party's high command.
Amid ongoing speculation about a leadership change within the ruling Congress, he wished Shivakumar "good luck".
"I have always wished him so. There is nothing else; we are good friends. He is the PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) president, and naturally, he has an aspiration to become the chief minister. Nobody can object to it. But it all depends on what the high command decides,” Parameshwara said in response to a question regarding Shivakumar’s aspiration for the CM post.
Speaking to reporters, he said, “Don’t always go back to the CM issue. Please understand there is nothing that I can tell you about it. If I were part of the decision-making body or inside the decision-making body, I could definitely provide information.”
Supporters of Shivakumar have been insisting on his elevation in line with a reported power-sharing agreement with chief minister Siddaramaiah when the party won the 2023 Assembly elections. Some have even claimed that "sweet news" is expected by May 15, which is Shivakumar’s birthday.
Speculation has been circulating within the Congress and political circles about a possible leadership change and cabinet reshuffle after May 4, once the results of the Assembly elections in four states and one union territory, along with bypolls to two Assembly segments in Karnataka, are announced.
However, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge said on Thursday that there is no CM change in Karnataka "for now" and that the leadership issue in the state will be resolved soon.
On Friday, he said no date has been fixed yet to discuss a possible leadership change, while maintaining that any decision in this regard would be taken collectively by the party high command after due consultation.
Meanwhile, Parameshwara met senior Congress leader and MLC B K Hariprasad and Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan over dinner on Friday. Hariprasad had met Siddaramaiah earlier in the day.
Responding to a question about discussions at the dinner, as his name is also being mentioned for the chief minister post amid calls for a "Dalit CM", the home minister said there was no discussion about the chief minister issue.
“Hariprasad told me that he met the CM, but he did not disclose what was discussed between them. Hariprasad, Zameer Ahmed Khan, and I met over dinner, and we discussed the elections held in four states and one union territory. We analysed the national-level political situation and naturally discussed the state’s political developments,” he said.
When asked if he would travel to New Delhi to meet the party high command, Parameshwara said, “I will definitely go to Delhi. Nobody can stop me from going there. I will go when it is required.”
