Rahul Gandhi pleads not guilty in RSS defamation case; court frames charges

Thane: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday pleaded not guilty in a defamation case filed against him by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker in a court in Maharashtra's Thane.

Gandhi arrived at the court in Bhiwandi at 11:10 am amid heavy security cover and was greeted by hoards of people raising slogans in his support.

Inside the court, when Judge A I Sheikh, read out charges against him, Gandhi said, "I am not guilty."

The court had on May 2 asked Gandhi to appear before it to record his plea in the defamation case filed by RSS worker Rajesh Kunte in 2014.

Kunte had filed the case after watching Rahul Gandhi's speech at an election rally in which he had alleged that the RSS was behind the killing of Mahatma Gandhi.

"The RSS people had killed (Mahatma) Gandhi," the Congress president had allegedly said in the rally.

Charges have been framed against Rahul Gandhi under section 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code.

During his two-day visit to Maharashtra, Rahul Gandhi is also expected to address party workers and interact with its corporators in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.