Opposition Leader, Rahul Gandhi Jailed For Two Years By India Court Over Defamation Comments

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

The criminal defamation case was filed against the Indian Gandhi by a leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, after a comment he made 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, stated.

While passing the judgement, Gandhi revealed in court that he had only 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 via his Twitter handle, 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 lashed out.

The convicted Gandhi is one of the main opposition leaders in the Indian nation who will eventually go up against Modi when he seeks his third term as prime minister coming up in 2024.

Meanwhile, 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 coming up in 2024