Case was filed after Rahul Gandhi claimed RSS had not allowed him to enter a temple in Assam's Barpeta.
Highlights
- Rahul Gandhi has to appear before a Kamrup court on September 29
- In 2015, Rahul Gandhi was expected to visit a temple in Barpeta
- He later claimed the RSS had not allowed him to enter
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has been summoned by a court in Assam in a defamation case for his alleged remarks against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS. He has to appear before a lower court in Kamrup on September 29.
The case dates back to December 2015, when the Congress vice president was holding a rally a Assam. He was expected to visit the Barpeta Satra, a 16th century monastery, from where he was meant to start a foot march which was to end at a mosque.
But Mr Gandhi did not enter the monastery as there were some women pilgrims inside. The next day, he claimed in Parliament that some "RSS people" had stopped him from entering the temple.
"When I went to Assam I wanted to visit the Barpeta temple. The RSS people stopped me from going into the temple. This is the way BJP operates. They put women in front of me and prevented me from going in," he had said.
The BJP accused him of lying and a defamation case was later filed.
The RSS, the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP, is a frequent target of the Congress vice president's attacks.
Another defamation case against him is pending in Supreme Court following his remarks on the RSS and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
Mr Gandhi had allegedly held the RSS responsible for the assassination of the Mahatma. The Congress leader's lawyers have claimed that he made the comment at a public rally before the elections in Maharashtra.