A court here has issued a notice to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in a Rs 100-crore defamation case filed against him for "defamatory" remarks against the Bajrang Dal and comparing it to the outlawed PFI in his party's Karnataka poll manifesto.

The notice was issued by the court on May 12 on a petition filed by Hindu Suraksha Parishad national president Hitesh Bhardwaj. The date for filing of reply to the notice has been fixed for July 10.