Rahul Gandhi pleads not guilty in defamation case over remarks on Savarkar
Magistrate A S Shinde observed that an accused's presence is not mandatory and the court has the discretion to allow representation. Accordingly, Pawar was permitted to enter the witness box and record Gandhi's plea.The Magistrate then read out the allegations of defamation based on a statement Gandhi made at a 2013 gathering of the Overseas Congress in the United Kingdom, which was uploaded on his social media on March 5, 2013.After explaining the particulars of the offence under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code, the Magistrate asked Pawar if Gandhi understood the charges, to which he replied in the affirmative. When asked if Gandhi pleaded guilty, Pawar responded, "No. I do not plead guilty."With Gandhi denying the charges, a full trial will proceed. The court has scheduled the recording of evidence against Gandhi to begin on July 29.- EndsMust Watch
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Opposition MPs, including All India Majlis-e- Ittehadul Muslimeen's Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress's Manish Tewari and Venugopal, and Revolutionary Socialist Party's NK Premachandran, spoke against the introduction, terming the proposed law against the Constitution and federalism. Demanding that Shah withdraw the bills, Tewari said they were 'squarely destructive' of the basic structure of the Constitution and turned the fundamental principle of the rule of law that a person is innocent till proven guilty on its head. The bills gave due procedure a go-by and made an investigating officer the 'boss of the Prime Minister of India', he said. Later in the evening, the home minister defended the bills. 'On account of the Modi government's commitment to restoring moral standards in politics and in view of the public resentment towards the menace, today with the Lok Sabha speaker's permission, I tabled constitutional amendment bills that will prevent people from holding important constitutional positions like Prime Minister, chief minister, or Union or state minister while in jail,' Shah later posted on X. He also attacked the Congress. 'I want to remind Congress that I had resigned even before being arrested. I did not hold any constitutional position, even after being released on bail, until the court fully acquitted me…The BJP and the NDA have always stood for moral values. On the other hand, the Congress party continues to carry forward the unethical tradition started by Smt. Indira Gandhi,' he said. The three bills propose an entirely new legal framework that will be applicable to ministers and CMs in states and Union territories such as Jammu & Kashmir, and Union ministers and the PM at the Centre. To be sure, the bills suggest that a dismissed minister, CM or PM can be appointed again after their release from custody. There is currently no provision to remove a sitting minister if they are accused of a crime. Only a Member of Parliament or legislative assembly can lose their seat (and if they're a minister, effectively their ministership) if they are convicted for a crime that carries a punishment of two years imprisonment or more. Owaisi said the bill violated the principle of separation of powers, undermined the elected government and gave executive agencies a free run to become a judge, jury and executioner based on flimsy allegations. 'Only when an offence is proved without reasonable doubt then only you can leave the post and membership. But here a mere accusation, allegation has the punishment of losing a minister post…This amendment will leave the CM and ministers at the mercy of the agencies,' he said.
