In a criminal defamation case from 2019 involving comments he made about the last name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congressman Rahul Gandhi was found guilty on Thursday and given a two-year prison sentence. He also has 30 days to file an appeal of the ruling, according to the court.
A Surat court found Rahul Gandhi guilty and gave him a two-year prison sentence, stating that a lighter sentence would send the incorrect message. Rahul Gandhi has been found guilty under a clause that carries a maximum sentence.
In its ruling, the court stated: "Rahul Gandhi had already received advice from the Supreme Court to be cautious about his utterances, but there has been no change in his behavior. Rahul Gandhi is a serving member of parliament, and speaking to the public as a member of parliament raises serious issues. The impact of MPs' statements is very broad, which makes his offense more serious.
The court stated that a "lesser penalty will send the wrong message to the public and the goal of defamation will not be attained."
Purnesh Modi, a former minister in Gujarat and BJP legislator, filed the defamation lawsuit after Rahul Gandhi asked, "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" at a rally. The Legislator asserted that Rahul Gandhi's remark defamed the entire "Modi" community.
Rahul Gandhi has been urged to apologize, and the BJP has criticized the Congress for criticizing Gandhi's conviction, questioning whether the party wants to give its leader "full license" to "abuse" people.
While Union Minister Piyush Goyal urged Gandhi to apologize for his string of "defamatory" remarks, BJP leader and former law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad cautioned Gandhi that if he continues to make such remarks, he will find himself in "further issues."
Goyal added, "They (the Congress) should get over their dynastic attitude and understand that no one is above the law.
The court order has angered Congress, and today there were demonstrations by party-state affiliates all around the nation. Leaders of the Maharashtra Congress protested the conviction in front of the party's Mumbai office. Former chief ministers Prithviraj Chavan and Ashok Chavan, as well as other officials and party members, were present. Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole and Bhai Jagtap, the head of the party's Mumbai unit, were also there.
The party would use the "jail-bharo" movement in the state, according to Nana Patole, who also noted that the politics of vengeance are short-lived.
