Bihar court summons Sonia Gandhi, Rita Bahuguna

MUZAFFARPUR: A Bihar court today summoned Congress President Sonia Gandhi to appear before it on July 29 in connection with a complaint alleging that her depiction in posters in Uttar Pradesh in 2007 as Goddess Durga was an "insult to Hindu religion".

Additional District and Sessions Judge (Muzaffarpur) A K Srivastava ordered issue of the summon after hearing the complainant and senior advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha.

The judge asked Gandhi to appear either in person or through her lawyer in the court to explain her position.

He also issued a separate summon to Uttar Pradesh Congess Committee (UPCC) president Rita Bahuguna and the party's Muradabad district president to appear before the court the same day in the case.

Ojha in his petition alleged that a photograph had appeared in the Muzaffarpur edition of a Hindi daily on June 21, 2007 of the Congress president allegedly depicted as Goddess Durga which was "an insult to Hindi religion and the Hindu community."

The picture was also displayed in the office of he Muradabad Congress.

Ojha alleged that Gandhi and others had connived to have the picture displayed "to insult the religion of the Hindu community".