Congress president Sonia Gandhi consulted her party's top leaders and best legal minds to discuss how to challenge a court summons to former prime minister Manmohan Singh in a coal scam case, sources have told NDTV.
Dr Singh will appeal against the summons in the Supreme Court. Former law minister Kapil Sibal, one of the country's top lawyers, will represent him, along with KTS Tulsi, sources say.
Mrs Gandhi held discussions with Mr Sibal, another former law minister Ashwani Kumar, and the party's leaders in Parliament, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday, hours after a special CBI court named Dr Singh as an accused in a case linked to the illegal allocation of coal mining rights.
"We offer our unstinting support and are fully behind him. We shall fight this not only legally but with all our means at our command," Mrs Gandhi told reporters.
The 82-year-old former prime minister was seen beaming at his party colleagues. "I am more than pleased and we will fight this case to the best of our ability," Dr Singh told NDTV.
The "walk of support" was seen as the party's answer to members of the ruling BJP who blamed the Congress for Dr Singh's legal troubles.
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