Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar have been summoned by a court in a defamation case filed by BJP.

The private complaint alleging false claims in advertisements tarnishing the image of the BJP was filed by the party's state secretary S Keshavaprasad on May 9.

According to the complaint, the advertisement released by the KPCC in major newspapers on May 5, 2023 in the run-up to the Assembly election claiming that the then incumbent BJP government indulged in "40 per cent corruption" and had looted Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the previous four years was "baseless, prejudiced and defamatory".

(This is a developing story. More details are awaited.)