A Surat court on Thursday sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years imprisonment in a criminal defamation case lodged against him in 2019 over his “Modi surname” remark.
The court also granted bail to Rahul Gandhi and stayed his sentence for 30 days, so that the Congress leader could challenge its decision in a higher court. Rahul Gandhi was present in the court when the verdict was pronounced. He reached Surat this morning.
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer Babu Mangukia told that the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Verma convicted the Congress leader under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. These sections deal with defamation and its associated punishment.
The case was registered against Rahul Gandhi over his remark in which he had allegedly said, “How come all thieves have the same surname Modi?”
Against this remark of Rahul Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi lodged a complaint. Gandhi, a Lok Sabha member from Wayanad, made the alleged remark at a public meeting held in Kolar, Karnataka ahead of the 2019 general elections.
