The defamation case was filed against Rahul Gandhi by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for saying “How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will appear in a Gujarat court today to appeal against his conviction and two-year sentencing in a 2019 defamation case, reported NDTV.
Rahul Gandhi is likely to move a plea in Surat’s sessions court to set aside the Magistrate order convicting him in the defamation case for a remark seen as an insult to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The former Congress president, sources say, will also ask for an interim stay on the conviction which would also restore his Lok Sabha membership.
He would be represented in the court by senior advocate RS Cheema. Mr Gandhi, who was recently disqualified as a parliament MP after the Gujarat’s court order, will be accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the Chief Ministers of three Congress-ruled states – Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Baghel and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
He had met his mother Sonia Gandhi yesterday before his court appearance. The BJP called Mr Gandi’s visit to Surat as “a childish attempt” to pressure the court.
“Rahul Gandhi might be going to Surat to file an Appeal. It is not required of a convict to go personally to file an Appeal. Generally, no convict goes personally. His going personally with a motley group of leaders and aides accompanying him is only a drama,” Mr Rijiju tweeted.
“What Rahul Gandhi is doing is also a childish attempt to bring pressure on the appellate court. All courts in the country are immune from such tactics,” he said in another tweet.
Rahul Gandhi might be going to Surat to file an Appeal. It is not required of a convict to go personally to file an Appeal. Generally, no convict goes personally. His going personally with a motley group of leaders and aides accompanying him is only a drama. (1/2)
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) April 3, 2023
The 52-year-old was convicted by a court and sentenced to prison for two years in Gujarat last month for a 2019 speech in which he linked PM Modi’s last name with two fugitive businessmen, remarking how the “thieves” shared the same last name.
The court, however, granted him bail for 30 days to appeal the verdict.
The defamation case was filed against Rahul Gandhi by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for saying “How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?”
Mr Gandhi’s Wayanad seat in Kerala is now vacant following his removal from the office and the Election Commission may now announce a special election for the seat.
Mr Gandhi’s disqualification order prompted a fractured opposition to come together to attack the BJP over the alleged misuse of central investigative agencies against the members of rival parties.
The BJP has said the conviction has come from an independent judiciary, with party president JP Nadda accusing Mr Gandhi of insulting an Other Backward Class (OBC) community – a key vote base for the party.
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