Patna, July 6: A Patna court on Saturday granted bail to Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed against him by Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Modi. The case was in connection to the Gandhi's scion remark at a poll rally in Karnataka where he had reportedly asked the gathering why all thieves are with "Modi surname".

Gandhi, who appeared before the bench earlier today, was released on Rs 10,000 surety amount by Patna court. Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Gandhi said, "Those who stand against the ideology of RSS and Narendra Modi, they face attacks and court cases." Rahul Gandhi's Replacement Must be 'Young, Dynamic Leader With Pan-India Appeal': Amarinder Singh

"My fight is to save the Constitution and stand with poor, farmers and labours of India, that is why I am here today. I will stand with the voice of India which was being suppressed," he added.

Sushil Modi had filed a case before the court in April this year, taking exception to a sarcastic remark made by Gandhi at an election rally in Karnataka's Kolar district that all thieves had the surname Modi.

Gandhi was indirectly referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then embroiled in the Rafale controversy, bank-fraud accused Nirav Modi and former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi.

Gandhi's appearance before Patna court comes days after he as well as CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury were summoned before Mumbai's Sewri court, where a defamation trial is underway against them for linking to RSS to the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh. Both the leaders were granted bail on a surety of Rs 15,000.

(With ANI inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 06, 2019 03:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).