- Sentenced to 2 years in jail
- Congress leader granted bail; has 30 days to appeal
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison this morning, in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname by a Court in Surat, Gujarat. Rahul was present in the Court when the verdict was pronounced.
However, he was granted bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to let him appeal the decision in a higher Court.
The case was filed against Rahul Gandhi by BJP MLA and former Gujarat Minister, Purnesh Modi, for saying, “How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?”
The Lok Sabha (LS) MP from Wayanad made the remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka, ahead of the 2019 LS polls, targeting PM Modi over his last name which he shares with fugitive businessmen Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.
The complainant claimed that the controversial remark defamed the entire Modi community.
As per the Representation of the People Act, a person sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more shall be disqualified ‘from the date of such conviction’ and remain disqualified for another six years after serving time.
Rahul Gandhi had last appeared before the Surat Court in the case, filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 499 and 500 (dealing with defamation), in October 2021 to record his statement. The maximum possible punishment under this section is two years. Before that, the Congress MP had appeared in the Court to plead not guilty to charges levelled against him.
The final arguments resumed in the case last month after the Gujarat High Court vacated its stay on the proceedings imposed on plea by the complainant, demanding Gandhi’s personal appearance.
Reacting to the news, Purnesh Modi, the former Gujarat Minister, said he welcomed the judgement.
In his first comment after the verdict, Rahul Gandhi quoted Mahatma Gandhi, tweeting in Hindi, “My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God, non-violence the means to get it.”
His sister and Congress leader, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, tweeted: “Scared rulers are pulling out all stops to suppress the voice of Rahul Gandhi. My brother has never been afraid, nor will he ever be. He will continue to speak the truth. Will continue to raise the voice of the people of the country. The power of truth and the love of crores of countrymen are with him.”
RahulJi ! We are with you!! You are a Gandhi! Not a Sarakar! Please don’t apply for Bail. Just like Mahatma Gandhi go to prison and serve the full term. Let nation realize that you are ready to even go to prison for upholding the truth and serve the people . Even now Modi can’t win in 2024. Show them that you can win from Jail just like MGR won while in hospital. Again we support you! Every day you are in prison we will protest on streets!
Purnesh Modi? Any relation to Narendra Modi and his brother Prahlad Modi?
The whole corrupt Modi gang, Jailing Rahul Gandhi will make him a martyr , and shows how mean-minded and corrupt this Modi crowd can be.
Vote AAP, and get rid of these corrupt thugs.
Modi may be thinking that, by eliminating Rahul from contesting the next election he is improving his chances of winning. But in reality many past PMs never won any elections and the victim Rahul in jail is a million times more powerful leader than Rahul outside the prison.so, people should vote for Congress to support Rahul and once Congress wins, nobody can stop Rahul from becoming the PM
Also, AAP is not a mainstream alternative to Congress. They won with the support from the enemies of the nation like Khalistanis from UK and Canada. IF they really won at national level you can be 100 percent sure Khalistanis will take over the nation. You can see what is happening in Punjab today fir a sample. Between irresponsible freebies and terrorists controlling the nation india will be another Pakistan or still worse. I have seen Punjab recently and it is very painful for common people to even see. No point in supporting a terror outfit that butchered our Ex-PM Indira Gandhi who sacrificed her life eliminating the idea of Khalistan. Now we have to be extremely careful not to elect AAP which is supported by foreign enemies and terrorists like Khalistanis .