Rahul appears before Patna court, accuses Modi govt of hounding dissenters

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appeared before a court here on Saturday in connection with a defamation suit filed against him by BJP leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

Gandhi alleged that scores were being settled in the country with anyone who raised his voice against the ruling dispensation.

"I am committed to fighting for the country's poor, farmers and workers. I have come here to express my solidarity with them," he said.

"Whoever is raising his voice in the country against the Modi government, against the BJP-RSS combine is being targeted through court cases. But my fight will continue," Gandhi told reporters before leaving the court premises.

The former Congress president surrendered before the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Kumar Gunjan and secured bail.

Gandhi, who resigned as the Congress chief earlier this week, was slapped with the defamation suit by Sushil Modi in April for asking "why all thieves have the surname Modi".

The comment was an obvious reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, absconding bank scam accused Nirav Modi and former Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi.

Several Congress workers were seen staging demonstration outside the Patna court, demanding that Gandhi withdraw his resignation as the party's president.

The Congress leader's appearance in the court comes days after he, as well as CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, pleaded not guilty in a Mumbai court in another defamation case filed against them by an RSS worker.