Rahul Gandhi says Kartikey name used in confusion:Claims Panama Papers remark not meant for Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s son

A hearing was held in the Madhya Pradesh High Court in the ongoing defamation case between Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Kartikeya Chauhan, son of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan. In a written submission before the court, Rahul Gandhi expressed regret over his earlier statement, clarifying that the remark was not directed at Kartikeya Chauhan and should be viewed in that context. The case was heard by a single bench of Justice Pramod Kumar Agarwal. The court has sought a response from Kartikeya Singh Chauhan on Rahul Gandhi’s application. The court said that further decision will be taken only after the complainant’s side is heard. The next hearing of the case will be on Thursday. The possibility of a settlement has increased. Rahul Gandhi said, ‘Took Kartikeya’s name in confusion’ In his application submitted before the High Court, Rahul Gandhi stated that his remarks were not directed at the complainant. He said Kartikeya Singh Chauhan’s name was mentioned inadvertently during the speech. A day after making the controversial statement, Rahul Gandhi had publicly clarified that he intended to refer to Abhishek Singh, son of then Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, but mistakenly took Kartikeya Chauhan’s name due to confusion. In the election rally, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that Kartikeya Singh Chauhan, son of Shivraj Singh Chauhan, is named in the Panama Papers leak case. When Pakistan’s former PM Nawaz Sharif’s name appeared in the Panama Papers, he was jailed, but no action was taken in Madhya Pradesh. Case related to 2018 Jhabua election speech This case is related to a speech by Rahul Gandhi during the 2018 Jhabua Assembly election campaign. Kartikeya Singh Chauhan alleges that while serving as Congress President, Rahul Gandhi mentioned his name at an election rally while referring to the Panama Papers leak case. According to the complaint, this damaged his reputation and image. Complaint was filed in MP-MLA Court Kartikeya Singh Chauhan filed a defamation complaint against Rahul Gandhi in the MP-MLA Court in Bhopal in this matter. Advocate Sankalp Kochar argued on behalf of the complainant. After the hearing, the court issued summons for Rahul Gandhi to appear personally. Summons challenged in High Court Challenging the summons issued by the MP-MLA Court and the pending proceedings, Rahul Gandhi has approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Questions have been raised in the petition regarding the proceedings of the lower court. Along with this, exemption from personal appearance in the hearing scheduled for June 25 has also been sought.