Karnataka Congress chief quits over poor show in byelections
Bengaluru, Dec 9: Congress state president Dinesh Gundu Rao on Monday announced his resignation, taking moral responsibility for the party's poor show in the Karnataka assembly bypolls
The Congress, which held 12 of the 15 seats where byelections were held on December five, won only two, in a huge set-back to the opposition party.
In sharp contrast, the ruling BJP turned in a stellar performance, bagging 12 seats.
"Today I have decided to resign from this post.
I have sent my resignation to our party (Interim) president Sonia Gandhi," Rao told reporters at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office.
The announcement came minutes after Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah announced his resignation from his post.
Rao said he arrived at a conclusion soon after the exit poll results on December 5 showed landslide victory for the BJP in the byelections.
"I too owe a lot of moral and political responsibility.
I had discussed with our Delhi based leaders about the poor prospects of our party in the byelection and that if something goes awry, I will have to take a decision accordingly," Rao said.
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Hearing in defamation case against Rahul Gandhi postponed till March 27
Sultanpur (UP) (PTI): Hearing in the defamation case involving Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, which was scheduled to take place on Monday at the MP-MLA Court in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur district, could not take place due to the non-appearance of the plaintiff Vijay Mishra.
The court will now hear this matter on March 27.
Santosh Kumar Pandey, the advocate of the plaintiff, on Monday said that he had submitted a formal application to the court during the previous hearing.
This application requested that the audio and video recordings of the statements made by Rahul Gandhi, which have been presented as evidence, be matched with Rahul Gandhi's authentic voice.
Due to Vijay Mishra's absence, the court has scheduled the next hearing for March 27, when the arguments in the case will be presented.
On February 20, Gandhi, the MP from Raebareli, had appeared before the court and recorded his statement, claiming the case was filed against him due to political vendetta. He had also told the court that the audio and video evidence submitted by the complainant was incorrect and said he would present his own evidence.
The case stems from Gandhi's alleged objectionable remarks against then BJP president Amit Shah during the 2018 Karnataka election campaign.
Following the remarks, Mishra, a resident of Hanumanganj under Kotwali Dehat police station area in Sultanpur, filed the defamation complaint.
In December 2023, the court had issued a warrant against Gandhi after he failed to appear before it. He later surrendered before the court in February 2024 and was granted bail on two surety bonds of Rs 25,000 each.
