Modi surname: Rahul Gandhi to appear before Patna court today in defamation case

Patna, July 06: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi will appear before a court in Patna on Saturday in connection with a defamation filed by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi over the "Modi" surname jibe made during the Lok Sabha election campaign.

Gandhi, while addressing an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, allegedly said: "Be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi all has a common surname...why all thieves have a common surname?".

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Sushil Kumar Modi found Gandhi's statement "offensive and derogatory" and had filed a defamation case under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code against him in a local court in Patna on April 18. He had also sought an apology from Gandhi.

The case was referred by CJM Shashikant Roy to ACJM Kumar Gunjan.

Gandhi, who resigned as the Congress chief earlier this week taking moral responsibility for his party's Lok Sabha election debacle, had last visited the Bihar capital in May, when he held a roadshow for actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who failed to retain the Patna Sahib seat on a Congress ticket in the parliamentary polls held in April-May.

A media report suggests that Gandhi might also visit Muzaffarpur, about 60 km from, which has been the worst affected by a state-wide outbreak of brain fever, which has claimed more than 150 lives.