Punjab court summons Mallikarjun Kharge in defamation case

Chandigarh, May 15: A local court in Punjab’s Sangrur has issued a notice to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in a Rs 100-crore defamation case filed against him for “objectionable” remarks against the Bajrang Dal.

The court of civil judge (senior division) Ramandeep Kaur has summoned Kharge on July 10.

Kharge compared the Bajrang Dal with the outlawed PFI in the Congress party’s Karnataka Assembly poll manifesto.

Petitioner Hitesh Bhardwaj, the founder of Hindu Suraksha Parishad Bajrang Dal Hind, had filed the defamation case against Kharge for making defamatory remarks against Bajrang Dal during the recently-concluded Karnataka elections.

He said the Congress leader compared Bajrang Dal with anti-national organisations and also promised to ban it after coming to power in Karnataka.