A Gujarat court has found Rahul Gandhi guilty of making offensive comments about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname. On Thursday, the Surat Sessions Court found guilty in the 2019 defamation case and sentenced him to two years in jail. The court also granted him bail for 30 days to file an appeal.
While campaigning in Karnataka in 2019, Rahul asked, “Why are all thieves called ‘Modi’?” He compared Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Lalit Modi accused in the IPL scam, Nirav Modi who was ‘on the run’ in the bank loan case. Purnesh Modi, a BJP leader in Gujarat, filed a defamation case against Rahul in that incident for ‘insulting the title’. Rahul was found guilty in that case.
A case was filed under sections 499 and 500 of the country’s IPC against Rahul Gandhi’s speech. Rahul Gandhi appeared in the court for the third time today in this case. After the hearing today, the court found Rahul Gandhi guilty. Reacting to the court order outside Parliament, India’s Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “Whatever Rahul Gandhi says always affects the Congress party and the entire nation negatively.”
Meanwhile, the court today granted the bail plea of the Congress leader. The court has issued a stay on its verdict for the next 30 days. During this period, Rahul Gandhi can appeal to the High Court against the verdict of the Surat court.