Tarun Gogoi appears before court in defamation case

GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday appeared in a court in Guwahati in connection with a Rs 100 crore defamation case filed against him by BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sharma.

The chief minister appeared in the civil judge No.1 court with his cabinet colleagues and some Congress MLAs while party workers gathered in strength in the court area.

Coming out of the court, Gogoi told reporters that "The court fixed the next date of hearing on February 8 next when we'll submit our objections."

"I am a law abiding citizen. There is no difference between a chief minister and others. Responding to the court summon, I appeared in the court today. There is an allegation made against me. We'll fight back," he said.

Sharma's lawyer said documents were placed before the court pertaining to the status of Sharma as only a witness in the CBI list on the Saradha case and a document from USA's New Jersey Court that there was no mention of Himanta or any politician from Assam in the FBI complaint petition before that court in the Louis Berger case.

Sharma had filed a Rs 100-crore defamation case against Gogoi on the grounds that Gogoi had levelled corruption charges against him on the said two cases.

Sharma was a former minister in Gogoi cabinet before he joined the BJP.