Surat: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday appeared before a magistrate court in Surat city of Gujarat to record his statement in connection with criminal defamation case filed against him over his remarks on 'Modi' Community.
Rahul Gandhi said in his statement that he did not know whether any videographer was present during the speech. Gandhi after staying in Surat Courtroom for 20 minutes, said "he is not aware of videographer."
This was the third time the Congress MP appeared before the court in connection with 2019 case.
Rahul Gandhi gave a controversial statement on the Modi community during the last Lok Sabha elections back in 2017. After that comment, MLA of Surat (West) and now Union Minister Purnesh Modi had filed a defamation case against Gandhi then.
Earlier, Congress MP was accorded a warm welcome by Gujarat Congress leaders at Surat airport, amidst tight police security. From the airport, he reached the court, where an additional statement of Rahul Gandhi was taken on the statement of the witness in the courtroom.
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Rahul Gandhi's lawyer Kirit Panwala said the statements of Shilappa and Arun, an Election Commission official from Kolar, were taken on October 25 in the matter. The petition will be heard in a Surat court on October 30. In this matter, Rahul Gandhi has already given his statements twice.
However, "Gandhi will not be present during the hearing of the case," Panwala added.
Purnesh Modi's lawyer V. B. Rathore said that following the High Court order, an Election Commission official and a videographer from Kolar filed statements in the Surat court. Another petition has been filed in the court today, seeking the statement of other witnesses in the case, which will be heard on Saturday.
