Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge has been summoned by a lower court in Sangrur, Punjab, in connection with a Rs 100 crore defamation case. The summons, issued by the Sangrur district court, came after a complaint was filed by Hitesh Bhardwaj, the president of a local organization called 'Bajrang Dal Hindustan'. The case revolves around the Congress party's inclusion of a controversial comparison between the Bajrang Dal, a right-wing youth group affiliated with Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and the banned organization Popular Front of India (PFI) in its manifesto for the Karnataka Assembly elections. The complainant alleges that the Congress party equated the Bajrang Dal with "anti-national organizations like SIMI and Al-Qaeda" in their manifesto. On July 10, the Sangrur district court has requested Kharge to make an appearance in relation to the aforementioned case.
