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

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

Congress advocates argued that 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 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, 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.

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