India's Rahul Gandhi Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Defamation

• India's Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sentenced to two years in prison for defamation
• The official made a speech in 2019 saying that thieves shared the surname, Modi
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi's allies supported him in the complaint

An Indian court sentenced the country's Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, to two years in prison on Thursday for allegedly defaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a speech in 2019.

The convicted official was present during the court hearing held in Surat, a city found in Gujarat, Modi's home state. Authorities gave Ghandi bail, and the sentence was suspended for 30 days.

India's Rahul Gandhi Given 2-Year Prison Sentence

A leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was the one who filed the criminal defamation case against Gandhi. It revolves around remarks that the Congress leader made where he referred to the surname Modi and how all thieves shared it.

The court's ruling said that the justices found Ghandi's comment to be defamatory and found him guilty under IPC section 499 read with 500. An advocate for complainant Modi, Ketan Reshamwala, was the one that read the court's decision, as per CNN.

In court, Ghandi said that he had made a comment in 2019 to highlight corruption and not against any particular community. The Congress leader is one of the main opposition leaders in India who are going up against Modi when the latter seeks his third term as prime minister in the 2024 elections.

Gandhi's Congress controlled less than 10% of the elected seats in the Indian parliament's lower house despite being once a dominant force. It also lost to the BJP in two successive general elections, the most recent in 2019.

The Indian prime minister remains the most popular politician by a significant margin, and many consider him to gain his third victory next year. The court's ruling against Ghandi occurs when the Congress leader is facing rising political and legal pressure amid his criticism of the Modi government.

The Fight for India's Democracy

In just the last week, police personnel working under the central government's command arrived at Ghandi's home located in New Delhi. They questioned him over the public remarks he made regarding the prevalence of sexual assault cases in the country, according to the Washington Post.

Furthermore, the BJP demanded that the Congress leader be suspended from parliament due to a speech he made while he was in Britain, where he accused the prime minister of dismantling Indian democracy.

In response, Congress said it would appeal the court's judgment and argued that the Indian government was using its police, investigative agencies, and courts to prosecute its political opposition.

A spokesman for Congress said that the court's ruling was full of "legally unsustainable conclusions," adding that the Modi government would not silence its politicians. During a news conference, Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that all of these attempts would never be able to prevent either Gandhi or the Congress Party from backing down from the fight, said BBC.

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India, Prison