A Punjab court on Monday summoned Congress party chief Mallikarjun Kharge in a ₹ 100 core defamation case over the party equating the banned Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) with Bajrang Dal in its Karnataka Assembly election manifesto. The complainant said the Congress in its manifesto compared Bajrang Dal with "anti-national organisations like SIMI and Al-Qaeda" during the recently-concluded state polls. Politicians from various parties reacted to the summon, calling it a strategy to silence the opposition, especially after the Congress’ victory in Karnataka.