A court in Lucknow has summoned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his allegedly defamatory remarks against the Indian Army during the 2022 Bharat Jodo Yatra, reported NDTV..Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Alok Verma has directed Gandhi to appear for the hearing on March 24..As per the report, the complaint has been filed by lawyer Vivek Tiwari on behalf of Uday Shankar Srivastava, a former director of the Border Roads Organisation with a rank equivalent to an Army Colonel.Tiwari alleged that Gandhi’s remarks on December 16, 2022 regarding the December 9, 2022 clash between the Indian and Chinese armies were derogatory and defamatory towards the Indian military forces.Gandhi's remark that "Chinese soldiers are beating up Indian Army personnel in Arunachal Pradesh" — a criticism directed at the government over Chinese actions at the Line of Actual Control — sparked widespread backlash and triggered a major political controversy..In January this year, the Supreme Court had stayed a criminal defamation proceedings against Gandhi booked for calling Union Home Minister and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah a murder accused. The case arose after BJP leader Navin Jha filed a complaint against Gandhi, alleging that Gandhi delivered a speech on March 18, 2018 criticising the BJP and accusing Shah of being involved in murder.