Rahul Gandhi not MP any more, can appear in defamation case in Thane: Complainant tells court
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Thane (PTI): An RSS activist, who had initiated criminal proceedings for defamation against Rahul Gandhi, has informed a court here about the Congress leader's disqualification after his conviction in a similar case in Gujarat, and opposed his application seeking permanent exemption from appearance.
The complainant, Rajesh Kunte, had in 2014 filed a private complaint before the Bhiwandi magistrate's court after watching Gandhi's speech where he allegedly accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.
Kunte claimed this statement slandered the reputation of the RSS.
Gandhi had appeared before the court in June 2018 and pleaded not guilty.
Last year, he had filed an application seeking permanent exemption from appearing in the court on the ground that he was a Member of Parliament who had to visit his constituency, attend the party work and travel a lot.
Two days back, Kunte, while opposing Gandhi's application, submitted a pursis (written note/information) to the court saying after Gandhi's conviction by a Surat court in a defamation case, the Congress leader was disqualified.
Kunte submitted that since Gandhi is not an MP any more, his application seeking permanent exemption stands to be infructuous (pointless/unnecessary).
He added that the offence under which Gandhi was held guilty and sentenced to two years in jail was of a similar nature to the present case.
The court took note of the same and posted the matter on April 1 for orders on Gandhi's application seeking permanent exemption, Gandhi's advocate Narayan Iyer said.
The court in Surat had on March 23 sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail in the 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his "why all thieves have Modi surname" remarks. But the court also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court. The next day, he was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha.
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Voting underway for local body elections in Gujarat
Ahmedabad (PTI): Voting got underway on Sunday morning for elections to several local bodies in Gujarat, including 15 municipal corporations and 84 municipalities.
Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, as per the schedule announced by the State Election Commission.
The elections are being held for 15 municipal corporations, including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats, making it one of the largest electoral exercises in the state.
A total of 9,992 candidates are in the fray, with more than 4.18 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise.
A three-tier security is in place, aided by CCTV surveillance and deployment of special squads in sensitive areas, police officials said.
The polls are being conducted under revised norms for Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations, and required extensive delimitation and restructuring of wards in several districts.
The ruling BJP, Opposition Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have emerged as the key players, while All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is also contesting in several places.
Among notable candidates are former Gujarat-cadre IPS officer M L Ninama, ex-radio jockey Abha Desai, and former AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani.
Ninama is contesting from the Odh seat in Shamlaji taluka for the Arvalli district panchayat elections, while the BJP has nominated Bhayani from the Bhesan seat of the Junagadh district panchayat.
Desai, popularly known as RJ Abha, is contesting as a Congress candidate from ward number 10 of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation.
Elections are also being held for the first time in nine newly-created municipal corporations, including Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Porbandar and Surendranagar.
Counting of votes will take place on April 28.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel campaigned extensively for the BJP.
The AAP had taken the lead over other parties in launching the campaign, with its national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann addressing several rallies across Gujarat.
In a first for AAP, the Kejriwal-led party is contesting around 5,000 seats in local polls.
Other contestants include the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Independents.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi campaigned in the final phase, addressing public meetings in Ahmedabad and Bhuj.
In March 2021, the BJP scored a landslide win in the local polls in Gujarat, winning 6,236 out of 8,470 seats across various municipalities and establishing a wide gap with rival Congress.
The BJP had then dominated all six municipal corporations, besides 81 municipalities, 32 district panchayats, and 231 taluka panchayats.
