Rahul Gandhi, the leader of The Indian National Congress (INC) was sentenced to two years imprisonment after being charged with criminal defamation. Purnesh Modi, MLA of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) filed a case against Mr.Gandhi in 2019. He was the former Gujarat minister.
The defamation case was filed over a statement Mr.Gandhi stated during a rally. The speech was addressed to the audience in the rally that happened at Kolar in Karnataka in 2019. It took place ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
He said, “How come all thieves have the common surname, Modi?”.
The statement was meant to be a hurl at Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding his last name. This was said because he shares his last name with known fugitives Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.
Nirav Modi is a businessman who worked in a diamond jewelry company. He is the owner of Nirav Modi diamond jewelry shops. Mr.Modi is under investigation for a fraud case in Punjab National Bank. In the fraud case, he was accused by the government of criminal conspiracy, cheating, and corruption among others.
Indian cricket executive and runaway businessman Lalit Modi is the guy behind the creation of the Indian Premier League. He is currently dating Bollywood actress and Miss Universe 1994 Sushmita Sen. He also served as the VP of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He works as an executive director of Godfrey Phillips India. He is also the president of Modi Enterprises.
Rahul Gandhi pledges to uphold Gandhiji’s principles of non-violence and truth
Following the verdict, the first statement Mr.Gandhi stated was a quote by the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. He said that his religion was based only on truth and non-violence. He said that truth is his God, and non-violence is the way to achieve it.
Following the case, Priyanka Gandhi, congress leader and Mr.Gandhi’s sister publicly tweeted that her brother has not and will never be afraid. She said that he will continue to speak only the truth and stand up for the voices of the citizens of the country.
Rahul Gandhi reached Surat earlier on the day of the verdict and was welcomed by the Congress’s Gujarat unit leaders. Various flocks of congress members and supporters were seen throughout the city preaching that the party will not bow down to the BJP rule. Posters glorifying him as the Lion of India or “Sher-e-Hindustan” were displayed.
Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) leader, Arvind Kejriwal, posted a tweet showcasing his disapproval of the verdict. Kirit Panwala, attorney of Mr.Gandhi, the court had finished hearing the concluding arguments for the case and declared that ruling will be made next.
Complaint by Purnesh Modi reported that Mr. Rahul Gandhi had disgraced the entire Modi community with his statement. Gandhi, the powerful MP, and former Congress president told the court on Thursday that his remark was not directed against any particular community.
Mr.Gandhi’s attorney also claimed that the proceedings of the court were “flawed” from the start. He also added that PM Modi was the target of the speech and hence he should have been the complainant.
According to Kanchan Gupta, a federal government consultant, Rahul Gandhi could be immediately expelled from parliament following the conviction, in accordance with a 2013 ruling by the nation’s top court. Gandhi’s formerly powerful Congress now holds less than 10% of the seats in the lower house of parliament and suffered crushing defeats to the BJP in the most recent two general elections.
By a wide margin, Modi continues to be the most well-liked politician in India, and according to surveys, he is certain to win the election again next year. Indian law also incorporates laws that categorize defamation as a criminal offense punishable by a jail term of up to two years, in contrast to many other countries where it is a civil offence.
