Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison on Thursday in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname by a court in Gujarat’s Surat. However, he was granted bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to let him appeal the decision.
The case was filed against Rahul Gandhi by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for saying “How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?”The action against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is an occasion for “fight, not fright” and all parties opposed to the ruling BJP at the Centre must come together “without delay”, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said.Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the BJP-led government wants to get Rahul Gandhi removed from Lok Sabha through disqualification as he speaks the truth and exposes it.Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said: “The reactions of leaders of Congress make it clear they don’t respect the institutions of the country. This is quite evident that they have scant respect for the institutions and they are repeatedly showing it.” The Congress is trying to frame this as part of the attack by a “dictatorial BJP government” because he was “exposing their misdeeds and demanding a JPC into the Adani issue.”