DNA Special: Analysis of Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Modi surname’ defamation case, know what he said

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who has been known to be a verbal critic of the Modi government, has now been sentenced to two years in prison because of several objectionable comments he made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The verdict was announced by a court in Surat, and Gandhi has been granted bail for 30 days in the matter.

As Rahul Gandhi is set to face around 2 years in jail, his position as a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha is also facing a threat. It is likely that he will be removed from his chair as the Wayanad MP due to his conviction in the Modi surname defamation case.

The year 2019 was the time for campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections. At that time, Rahul Gandhi used to raise and chant ' Chowkidar Chor Hai' slogans in his public meetings and also get a lot of applause. This slogan became one of the most prominent chants of the opposition during the campaign.

As the Lok Sabha election campaign was gathering wind, Rahul Gandhi made some objectionable comments about the surname ‘Modi’, referring to PM Narendra Modi. During a speech in Kerala, Gandhi had said, “Why do all thieves have the surname Modi? After Lalit Modi, Neerav Modi, and Narendra Modi, more such Modi’s will come out.”

While the Congress did not get much electoral benefit from the statements made by Rahul Gandhi, the Congress MP had a defamation case filed against him in Surat after people felt that he was insulting the surname ‘Modi’ through his speech.

After Rahul Gandhi's statement, BJP MLA from Surat West Purnesh Modi filed a defamation case. The petition said that Rahul Gandhi has insulted the entire Modi community. During the hearing that lasted for three years in Surat court, Rahul Gandhi had to appear three times. After hearing the arguments of both parties, the Surat court reserved the verdict on March 17 after hearing all the arguments in this case.

The judge convicted Rahul Gandhi and asked if he wanted to say anything. On this, Rahul said that he keeps speaking against corruption but did not say this intentionally. Rahul Gandhi said that he will not apologize. On behalf of Rahul Gandhi, his lawyer said that if no one has been harmed by what Rahul had said, then the least permission should be given to the Congress leader.

In defamation cases, the accused are often acquitted by saying that they made a mistake. If Rahul Gandhi wanted, he could have done this and avoided punishment. However, the Congress MP refused to issue an apology for his words and has now been convicted in the case, and sentenced to 2 years in prison.

While it is likely that Rahul Gandhi will lose his membership in the Lok Sabha over the conviction, he is planning to appeal the conviction in a higher court, hopeful that the jail sentence will be reversed.

READ | 'Because of his attitude...': BJP slams Rahul Gandhi after Surat court verdict in 'Modi surname' case