Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, was granted bail by a Lucknow court in a defamation case related to remarks he made during the 2022 Bharat Jodo Yatra. The case pertains to comments about the Indian Army, which were deemed derogatory by the complainant. The MP-MLA court, presided over by Additional CJM Alok Verma, granted Gandhi bail upon his appearance and submission of two bonds of Rs 20,000 each.
The controversy originated on December 16, 2022, when Gandhi, during the Yatra, referred to the Galwan Valley clashes and alleged, “Chinese troops are thrashing our soldiers, and no one is even asking questions about it.” These remarks sparked backlash, especially since they came days after an Indian Army statement on December 12 clarified that Chinese troops had been repelled during an attempted intrusion and that only minor injuries occurred on both sides.
The defamation complaint was filed by Uday Shankar Srivastava, a former director of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), who claimed that Gandhi’s remarks hurt his sentiments and discredited the Indian Army. Gandhi had earlier approached the Allahabad High Court for relief, but his plea was dismissed. Notably, he had skipped court appearances in the last five hearings before finally appearing in compliance with the latest summons.
