SULTANPUR (UP), JULY 26 : Rae Bareli MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday appeared before the MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh’s Sultanpur district and claimed innocence in a complaint accusing him of defaming Home Minister Amit Shah.

“Sir, I am innocent. I have been framed under a political conspiracy,” said Gandhi while recording his statement before MP-MLA Judge Shubham Verma.
The proceedings required his presence in court for about 15 minutes.
It may be noted that the defamation case was filed on August 4, 2018 against Gandhi accusing him of making objectionable remarks against Shah in Bengaluru.
Earlier, the court had granted bail to Gandhi in the case on February 20.

On Friday. the judge fixed August 12 as the next date of hearing while directing the plaintiff’s lawyer to present evidence.

Local BJP leader Vijay Mishra had lodged a complaint accusing Gandhi of making allegedly indecent remarks against Shah during an election rally in Bengaluru.
Gandhi’s lawyer Kashi Prasad Shukla said the Congress leader reached the court and recorded his statement.
He said Gandhi termed the allegations against him baseless and that all these were made out of political malice to tarnish his and his party’s image.(UNI)