Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is set to appear before a special MP-MLA court in Sultanpur on Monday, which is scheduled to deliver its verdict in a defamation case against him.
Gandhi arrived at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow on Monday morning. Hundreds of Congress workers and local party leaders gathered at the airport to welcome the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Raebareli MP.
He did not speak to reporters before leaving for Sultanpur.
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ told PTI Videos, “We have complete faith in the judiciary. Rahul Gandhi ji is going to Sultanpur for that case only.”
Security has been tightened in Sultanpur, particularly around the court complex, in view of the proceedings, police officials said.
The case relates to alleged objectionable remarks Gandhi made about then BJP president Amit Shah at a rally in Bengaluru ahead of the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections.
Vijay Mishra, a local BJP politician and former chairman of the District Cooperative Bank in Sultanpur, filed the defamation complaint against Gandhi on August 4, 2018.
Gandhi appeared before the court in 2023 and secured bail. The court had initially scheduled the verdict for October 13 but later rescheduled it for October 26.
(With inputs from PTI)