Global Courant 2023-04-20 10:57:35
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,
Surat court rejects Congress leader’s petition regarding defamation case, raising uncertainty over whether he will be able to challenge 2024 polls.
A court in India’s western state of Gujarat has rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s petition.
Gandhi was sentenced last month in a case brought by a state legislator from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after remarks made by the leader of the Congress party in a speech were deemed insulting to the prime minister and others people nicknamed Modi.
The district court in the city of Surat had sentenced Gandhi to two years in prison for his comments in 2019 about two fugitive Indian businessmen, both nicknamed Modi.
At an election rally that year, the 52-year-old leader had asked: “How come all the thieves are named Modi?”
Naishadh Desai, a congress leader and lawyer, told reporters on Thursday that the court of Surat has not stayed Gandhi’s sentencing.
“We are going to challenge the decision in Gujarat High Court tomorrow (Friday). We are confident that the judiciary will uphold justice and save democracy,” he said.
While Thursday’s verdict was a setback for Gandhi, his jail term remained suspended until he exhausted all of his legal challenges for sentencing.
Gandhi, 52, lost his parliamentary seat in March after being sentenced to two years in prison for Modi’s comments.
The law governing elections in India prescribes disqualification of any politician “convicted of a crime and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years”.
Senior congress leader and Supreme Court lawyer Jairam Ramesh said the party would pursue every legal opportunity to overturn Gandhi’s conviction.
The defamation case against Gandhi was brought by Purnesh Modi, a BJP lawmaker in Gujarat, Modi’s home state.
The BJP has repeatedly directed corruption allegations against the Gandhi family as part of its strategy to remove the political threat from the Congress and defame the reputation of a family that dominated Indian politics for decades after independence in 1947.
