A Sangrur courtroom on Monday issued summons to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in a 100-crore defamation case filed by Hitesh Bhardwaj, the founding father of Hindu Suraksha Parishad.

In the order issued on Friday and made public on Monday, the courtroom requested Kharge to look earlier than it on July 10.

Bhardwaj sought monetary compensation of 100 crore plus curiosity together with 10 lakh as authorized payment from the Congress chief for allegedly damaging the status of Bajrang Dal by bracketing it with outlawed organisations, such because the Popular Front of India (PFI) and different Talibani outfits within the manifesto launched by the Congress forward of the Karnataka meeting elections.

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“The allegation within the type of comparability of Bajrang Dal with PFI and different Talibani organizations with none foundation maims and impairs the title and honor of the members of Bajrang Dal and the Hindu Suraksha Parishad, whose quantity in crores, and likewise defames followers of Lord Hanuman Ji who’s reverentially worshiped by crores of Hindu practitioners in addition to practitioners of Dharmic and Indian religions whose quantity is multiple billion,” Bhardwaj stated.

In the run-up to the Karnataka elections, the Congress talked about in its manifesto that it could take “decisive action” in line with the legislation, together with banning organizations such because the Bajrang Dal, the Popular Front of India and others if voted to energy.

Previously, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had misplaced his membership within the Lok Sabha after being convicted by a classes courtroom in Surat for 2 years in a legal defamation case. The case pertains to a comment Rahul made utilizing the surname Modi whereas addressing a marketing campaign occasion forward of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

At a rally in Karnataka’s Kolar in April 2019, Rahul, in a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stated, “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?”