Rahul Gandhi faces defamation case for 'tarnishing India's image'

Muzaffarpur: A complaint was filed against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a court here on Saturday seeking registration of a defamation case against him for allegedly tarnishing and lowering the image of the country.

The complaint was filed by advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Hari Prasad here, which fixed September 4 as the date for hearing the matter.

Ojha contended that Rahul Gandhi had "justified terrorism and explained the emergence of Islamic State (IS) group due to increasing unemployment and likened it with that of India, which is an insult to the country".

The Gandhi scion, during his visit to Germany and Britain, had said that terrorism was on the rise in India due to increasing unemployment, Ojha said in his complaint.

He also held Indian culture responsible for violence against women, the complainant said, adding that the Congress chief had "tarnished and lowered the image of India internationally on foreign soil".

Gandhi had "deliberately made such statements with an intention to create tension in the country" and the remarks have led to protests and demonstrations against him, the complaint said.

Ojha further said that he was hurt by the Congress leader's comments which he read in various newspapers and saw on TV channels.

He filed the criminal complaint case against Rahul Gandhi under various sections of IPC including 153B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 500 (defamation) and 504 (insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace).

If convicted by the court, the charges attract a minimum of two to three years of imprisonment with fine or both.