New Delhi, Oct 26 — Tamil Nadu Congress President and MP Manickam Tagore on Monday welcomed the Sultanpur court's verdict acquitting Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case, while accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of indulging in what he described as "petty politics" by filing cases against the Rae Bareli MP.
Earlier in the day, a special MP-MLA court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, acquitted Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case related to alleged objectionable remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was serving as the BJP president when the case was filed in 2018.
Speaking to IANS, Tagore said the case against Gandhi was a "fake case" filed by the BJP, which, according to him, had wasted both the Congress leader's time and the court's time.
"Sultanpur, the fake case which was against Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case which has been registered by the BJP to waste his time as well as the time of the court, the verdict has come. We welcome the verdict, but the BJP and RSS must stop these kinds of things; the right to speech should not be stopped," Tagore said.
The Congress MP further asserted that Rahul Gandhi would not be intimidated by legal cases and would continue to raise issues concerning the people of the country.
"Rahul Gandhi is a leader who is not going to be afraid of cases. There are more than 45 cases registered across India by BJP people to make Rahul Gandhi run from one court to another. He is fighting for the people of India; he is fighting for the truth of India; therefore, it's a welcome verdict by the court. We hope that BJP does not engage in such petty politics again," Tagore added.
Gandhi was present in court when the verdict was pronounced. The court observed that Rahul Gandhi's remarks did not amount to defamation, bringing an end to the case at the current stage of proceedings.
The verdict was welcomed by Congress leaders, who criticised the filing of cases against the Leader of the Opposition and alleged that such proceedings were intended to divert his attention and consume his time.