A court in Bhiwandi near Mumbai, yesterday granted bail to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who is accused in a defamation case.
The next hearing in the case, filed by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist Rajesh Kunte, was set for January 28.
Former union minister Shivraj Patil stood as surety for the bail for the Congress leader.
The case stems from Gandhi’s speech in Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014 in the run-up to Lok Sabha elections when he allegedly claimed that “RSS people had killed Mahatma Gandhi.”
Later, addressing a huge crowd of Congress activists in the Muslim-dominated powerloom town, Gandhi said he had come “to fight” an ideological war against the RSS.
Lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi alleged that in the past one year, Modi had waived off over Rs1.1tn (110,000 crore) loans to a handful of 15 industrialists.
“Now, he has taken money from each citizens’ pocket to give it to these industrialists who are his friends... No action was taken against them...
“We demand action against Modi’s friends and those who have hoarded black money,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi had earlier expressed his readiness to face trial after the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the criminal proceedings pending against him before the trial court.
The Supreme Court had rapped the Gandhi scion in July 2016 for his remarks and asked him to either apologise or face trial in the case.
“If you won’t apologise, you will have to face trial,” the court said pulling up the Congress leader for his remarks.