Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday appeared before the Bhiwandi magistrate's court to furnish a fresh surety in a 2014 defamation case filed by an RSS activist, naming the party's Maharashtra chief Harshwardhan Sapkal as his new guarantor.
Gandhi, on his way to the court in Maharashtra's Thane district, faced a black-flag protest by BJP workers, who shouted slogans, accusing the Opposition Congress of maligning India's image through the Youth Congress's protest at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi.
He arrived in court with Sapkal and other senior party leaders.
The court had asked the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition to appear before it in person to furnish a new surety in the case following the death of his previous guarantor, former Union Minister Shivraj Patil Chakurkar, on December 12 last year.
Patil had stood as a guarantor for Gandhi in 2016 when the court granted him bail when he appeared before it.
The legal proceedings, which involved Gandhi signing a fresh bail bond, were completed within half an hour.
With his advocates Narayan Iyer and Kushal Mor, Gandhi presented Sapkal as his new surety.
The court verified the Maharashtra Congress leader's details as he signed the surety bond to complete the process.
"We have full faith in the Indian judiciary and are confident that justice will be served. While Gandhi has been granted permanent exemption from personal appearance in future hearings, we will present our defence witnesses at the appropriate time," Iyer said.
He said that the cross-examination of the investigating officer (IO) would resume now that the bail formalities are complete, clarifying that there was no examination of Gandhi scheduled for the day.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist Rajesh Kunte filed a complaint in the court alleging that the Congress leader, while speaking at a rally at Sonale village during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, stated that the Sangh was behind the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
Meanwhile, BJP workers alleged that Gandhi consistently opposes the initiatives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused him of tarnishing the country's image.
"Rahul Gandhi opposes whatever the Prime Minister does, even on issues concerning the nation. The Youth Congress workers raised slogans at the AI Summit, maligning India's image. That is why we protested against him," a BJP supporter said.
The police had made elaborate security arrangements for Gandhi's visit to prevent any confrontation between workers of the ruling and Opposition parties.
Criticising the BJP's agitation, Congress leader Sachin Sawant said it was "an attempt to divert attention from key national issues".
He accused the ruling party of resorting to theatrics as it had no answers for the public.
Sawant questioned the reasons behind what he termed the BJP government's "surrender" before US President Donald Trump and sought clarity on matters related to financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying the party owed an explanation to the people.
He also alleged that the BJP had compromised the future of farmers in Maharashtra and the country by putting their interests at stake in the trade deal with the US.
The Nationalist Congress Party (SP) also hit out at the 'black flag' protest, calling it a "disrespectful" departure from democratic norms.
The party's Thane city chief, Manoj Pradhan, said, "Rahul Gandhi holds a constitutional post as the Leader of the Opposition in the country's highest house. It is fundamentally wrong to show black flags to him in such a manner. This is not how a democracy should function."