A Bengaluru court has granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in connection with a case filed by the BJP's Karnataka unit. The case pertains to allegedly issuing defamatory advertisements in mainstream newspapers ahead of the Assembly polls last year.
The advertisement, which surfaced prior to the elections, accused the then BJP government in Karnataka of engaging in large-scale corruption during its tenure from 2019 to 2023. The Congress, through these ads, alleged a 40 per cent commission on all public works, further releasing a 'corruption rate card' targeting the previous government.
BJP MLC and General Secretary Keshava Prasad filed a defamation case against Congress leaders, including D K Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah, and Rahul Gandhi, claiming false advertisements against its party leaders, including the then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Earlier this month, on June 1, the court granted bail to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who also serves as the state Congress chief, after they appeared before the court in connection with the same case.
The Karnataka BJP unit had requested the court to issue a non-bailable warrant against Rahul Gandhi for not appearing on June 1, despite Congress stating that Rahul was not involved in the publication of the advertisement. However, Rahul Gandhi was not issued a non-bailable warrant, and Judge K N Shivakumar directed him to appear before the Bengaluru court on June 7 without fail.