Bengaluru:

A court here on Saturday directed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to appear before it in a defamation case filed by the BJP and granted bail to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar in connection with the matter.

Rahul Gandhi was asked to appear before the court on June 7 in connection with the case.

The defamation case on alleged false advertisements was filed by BJP general secretary Keshav Prasad.

While Mr Siddaramaiah and Mr Shivakumar appeared in person before the Special Court for People’s Representatives in Bengaluru, Mr Gandhi, who was supposed to appear, did not turn up.

BJP advocates raised objections and said Mr Gandhi should not be given an exemption under CrPC 205 since he had skipped an appearance for the second time.

Congress advocates argued that Mr Gandhi was attending the INDIA bloc meeting in New Delhi, and he is also a contestant in the Lok Sabha polls.

They requested the court for exemption from Saturday’s hearing and promised that the Congress leader would be present on the next date. The court granted an exemption to Mr Gandhi and directed him to be present before it on June 7.

In the run-up to the 2023 Assembly election, the Congress ran a campaign of ’40 per cent Sarkara’, accusing the then BJP government in Karnataka of collecting 40 per cent commission on public works and exorbitant bribe in posting and recruitments.

The party also put out posters of ‘PayCM’ with a QR code showing the then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in the middle of it. Scanning the QR code would redirect to a web page developed by the Congress which had contents accusing rampant corruption prevailing in the state under the BJP rule.

The complainant accused the Congress party of running a defamatory campaign against the previous BJP government.

Speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah said he appeared in court regarding a private complaint. He described the case as civil and emphasised his commitment to the law.

The chief minister said KPCC president Shivakumar and Rahul Gandhi were also implicated in the case. All the three leaders have requested a permanent injunction to avoid further court appearances related to this case.

Meanwhile, addressing mediapersons, Mr Shivakumar said the Congress party’s advertisements were based on statements made by BJP leaders, which were reported in the media.

He asserted that the party is prepared to handle the legal challenge, noting the BJP leaders’ claims about substantial payments for the CM’s post and other positions.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bengaluru:

BJP leader Amit Malviya on Wednesday accused Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar of “brazen abuse of power” after a video of him seeking votes from the residents of a housing society in Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha segment was shared widely on social media platforms.

In the video clip, Mr Shivakumar was purportedly heard saying that he had come for a “business deal” and if the 2,510 houses in the housing society — 6,424 votes — go to his candidate — his brother D K Suresh is seeking re-election from Bangalore Rural in the coming elections — then he assured them that their major issues concerning supply of Cauvery river water and need for a civic amenity site would be resolved by him within three months.

Sharing the video clip, Mr Malviya, the BJP IT department head, attacked Mr Shivakumar, the state Congress chief, and said that irrespective of who the people choose to vote for, it is his responsibility as a minister to provide amenities to the people.

“DK Shivakumar, Deputy CM of Karnataka, in a brazen abuse of power, holds voters of a large housing society in his brother DK Suresh’s constituency, to ransom. Sounding every bit menacing, he wields a threat, couched in crass humour, that if the residents don’t vote for his brother, he would know (since their vote is in 2/3 booths) and not provide water and CA site…,” he alleged in a post on ‘X’.

“Irrespective of who the people choose to vote (for), it is DK Shivakumar’s responsibility as a minister to provide amenities to the people. If he doesn’t , then the BJP will, when they come to power. But such threats and quid pro quo for delivering what one has been voted for is UNACCEPTABLE,” he further alleged.

DK Shivkumar, Deputy CM of Karnataka, in brazen abuse of power, holds voters of a large housing society in his brother DK Suresh’s constituency, to ransom. Sounding every bit menacing, he wields a threat, couched in crass humour, that if the residents don’t vote for his brother,… pic.twitter.com/Kd08TRnSzA

— Amit Malviya (मोदी का परिवार) (@amitmalviya) April 17, 2024

Tagging the Election Commission of India on ‘X’, he urged them to take note of the multiple model code of conduct violations and intimidation in this case.

Reacting to the alleged video, Mr Shivakumar told reporters that it was his duty to solve the problems of the apartment, or any citizen for that matter. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)