Rahul Gandhi sentenced to 2 years imprisonment in ‘Modi surname’ defamation case, Know all about the case
By Lokmat English Desk | Published: March 23, 2023 04:35 PM2023-03-23T16:35:15+5:302023-03-23T16:35:15+5:30
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A Surat court on Thursday held Congress MP Rahul Gandhi guilty in a 2019 defamation case and sentenced him to two years imprisonment. The court approved Gandhi’s bail on a surety of Rs 15,000 and stayed the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal.
However, he was granted bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to let him appeal the decision.
The case was filed against Mr Gandhi by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for saying "How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?"
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The Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad made the remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, targetting PM Modi over his last name which he shares with fugitive businessmen Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.
In his first comment after the verdict, Mr 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."
Rahul Gandhi arrived in Surat earlier in the day for the verdict and was received by top leaders of the Congress's Gujarat unit. Supporters and members of the party turned out at various spots in the city as a show of strength and support for Mr Gandhi, with posters extolling him as 'Sher-e-Hindustan' (Lion of India) and placards declaring that the "Congress will not bow before the dictatorship of the BJP" on display. Following the conviction, Mr Gandhi earned a rare show of support from Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) boss Arvind Kejriwal, who tweeted he "disagreed" with the verdict.
