Bengaluru: Rahul Gandhi, a leader of the Congress party, is scheduled to appear before a special court in Bengaluru on Friday. This appearance is in relation to a defamation case filed against him by Karnataka BJP MLC Keshav Prasad.

According to Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Rahul Gandhi will appear before the Special MP/MLA court at 10:30 a.m., and both he and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will also be present. Shivakumar appealed to party workers not to bring party flags or raise slogans against the BJP in the court premises.

Prasad’s defamation suit alleges that the Congress engaged in propaganda by publishing full-page advertisements. These ads accused the previous BJP government in the state of charging a 40 per cent commission for providing government projects. Prasad argued that during the Assembly elections, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar had made false allegations to misguide the people of the state. He contended that they should face action under Section 500 of the IPC.

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Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy Shivakumar appeared before the court on June 1 and obtained bail. However, Rahul Gandhi, who is also a party to the case, did not appear despite giving an undertaking. The counsel for the BJP leader sought that a non-bailable arrest warrant be issued against him.

Later, Rahul Gandhi will also hold a discussion with the newly-elected Congress MPs from the state as well as defeated candidates at the Bharat Jodo Bhavan.

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