India Court Jails Opposition Leader, Rahul Gandhi, Two Years For Defamation

India Court Jails Opposition Leader, Rahul Gandhi, Two Years For Defamation

A court in western India found opposition leader Rahul Gandhi guilty of defamation on Thursday for a speech he made in 2019, and sentenced him to two years in prison.

The criminal defamation case was filed against Gandhi by a leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, after a speech during the 2019 general election in which he referred to the surname Modi and asked how all thieves had the surname.

“The court has found Rahul Gandhi’s comment to be defamatory. He has been sentenced to two years in jail,” Ketan Reshamwala, advocate for complainant Purnesh Modi, said.

Gandhi said in court that he had commented to highlight corruption and not against any community.

He was given bail and the sentence was suspended for 30 days.

The president of his Congress party on Twitter, called Modi’s government “cowardly and dictatorial” adding that Gandhi would appeal against the verdict in a higher court.

“The Modi government is a victim of political bankruptcy,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said.

Gandhi is one of the main opposition leaders in the country who will go up against Modi when he seeks his third term as prime minister in 2024.

Modi remains India’s most popular politician by a substantial margin and is widely expected to win a third victory at the next general election in 2024