Thursday, a court in western India found Rahul Gandhi guilty of defamation for a speech he gave in 2019 in which he said that thieves had the last name, Modi. He was given a two-year prison sentence.
Gandhi was in court in Surat, a city in Gujarat and the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He got bail, and his sentence was put on hold for 30 days.
A leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) filed a criminal defamation case against Gandhi after he asked why all thieves had the last name Modi in a speech during the 2019 general election.
“The court has decided that Rahul Gandhi’s comment was hurtful. Under IPC section 499 read with 500, the court found him guilty. He has been given a two-year prison sentence “Ketan Reshamwala, the lawyer for Purnesh Modi, who filed the complaint, said.
Gandhi said in court that he only said that to point out corruption and not to hurt any group.
Gandhi is one of the most important leaders of the country’s opposition. In 2024, when Modi runs for a third term as prime minister, he will face off against Gandhi.
Gandhi’s once-powerful Congress has less than 10% of the elected seats in the lower house of parliament, and it has lost badly to the BJP in two general elections in a row, most recently in 2019.
Modi is still, by a large margin, India’s most popular politician, and most people think he will win a third term at the next general election in 2024.
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