Rahul Gandhi: Indian Congress leader appeals jail sentence in defamation case

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is set to appeal Monday his conviction and prison sentence in a criminal defamation case.

A court in Gujarat sentenced him to two years in prison for his 2019 comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s title at an election rally.

Opposition leaders accused the ruling BJP of political vendettas.

The BJP denied this, saying that due process was followed in the case.

India’s national elections are scheduled for next year. Mr. Gandhi will not be allowed to appeal until his sentence is suspended or he is acquitted in the case.

News reports say that Mr. Gandhi will appear in court in the city of Surat along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other senior leaders of the Congress. Congress workers gathered outside the court to support Mr. Gandhi. Several videos showed protesters holding signs reading “Save Democracy”. A senior police official told the Nouakchott Press Agency that a large number of police had been deployed in Surat.

A member of Gandhi’s legal team told the BBC that the politician would ask to stay his conviction at the court hearing. Any decision in his favor would restore his position in parliament, while his lawyers could challenge his appeal to a higher court.

Mr. Gandhi is currently on bail after being given time to appeal the verdict, which was handed down on March 23.

The defamation case against him, brought by BJP MP Poornesh Modi, centered around comments made by Mr Gandhi in Karnataka during a campaign rally: “Why do all these thieves have a surname Modi? Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi,” he said. .

Nirav Modi is a fugitive Indian diamond magnate while Lalit Modi is the former chairman of the Indian Premier League who has been banned for life by the country’s Cricket Board.

Burnish Modi alleged in his complaint that the comments had defamed the entire Modi community. However, Mr. Gandhi said he made the comment to highlight corruption and it was not directed against any society.

The scion of Congress lost his seat in Parliament a day after his conviction due to a Supreme Court order stating that an MP convicted of a crime and sentenced to two years or more in prison remains disqualified with immediate effect.

Last week, members of the Congress party held protests in several states. Leaders of many other opposition parties also joined the protests.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed in a press conference that Mr. Gandhi was being targeted by the ruling BJP over his comments about Mr. Modi’s “relationship with Adani”.

Congress and other opposition parties have also demanded that a panel of experts investigate allegations of financial fraud against Al-Adani’s group.

“Mr. Gandhi has been the prime minister’s harshest and most consistent critic,” Ramesh said on Friday.

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