Will Rahul Gandhi Go to Jail in ‘Modi’ Defamation Case?
Will Rahul Gandhi Go to Jail in ‘Modi’ Defamation Case?
Congress has planned to move the high court to get Rahul Gandhi’s conviction canceled or deferred.
By Rakesh Raman
As expected, a court in Gujarat today (April 20) dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s appeal to stop his conviction in a defamation case. As a result, Rahul Gandhi may have to go to jail for two years.
Earlier, in March, a court – again in Gujarat – had found Rahul Gandhi guilty in this defamation case over his remarks about the “Modi” surname of prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi.
Rahul Gandhi had compared PM Modi with fugitive businessmen Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, saying “How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?”
He made this statement in a 2019 public rally that he addressed in Karnataka. But ignoring territorial jurisdiction, a random petitioner was allowed to file his petition against Rahul Gandhi in Gujarat where Modi was the chief minister.
According to reports, the case was filed against Rahul Gandhi by Modi’s party colleague Purnesh Modi who is a BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister.
In his complaint, the BJP leader alleged that Rahul Gandhi defamed the entire Modi community with his remarks, although the petitioner is not directly affected by Rahul Gandhi’s statement.
Neither PM Modi nor any of the other Modis that Rahul Gandhi mentioned filed the petition against him. It is increasingly happening that some mercenary petitioners who are not directly involved in cases file petitions against people who need to be harassed and surprisingly courts accept such petitions.
RELATED VIDEOS IN HINDI
[ VIDEO: क्या ‘मोदी’ मानहानि मामले में जेल जाएंगे राहुल गांधी? ]
[ VIDEO: अरविन्द केजरीवाल: अरविन्द भाई छोड़ो यह रोज की लड़ाई ]
[ VIDEO: मोदी अदानी भाई भाई, देश बेच के खाई मलाई। ]
[ VIDEO: अमेरिकी सांसद इल्हान उमर ने पंजाब में मानवाधिकार के उल्लंघन पर चिंता व्यक्त की ]
[ VIDEO: मोदी-अडानी गठजोड़: अरविंद केजरीवाल ने कहा मोदी सबसे भ्रष्ट प्रधानमंत्री हैं ]
[ VIDEO: भाजपा ने कांग्रेस भ्रष्टाचार पर “कांग्रेस फाइल्स” कार्यक्रम शुरू किया ]
[ VIDEO: पीएम मोदी की डिग्री मांगने पर अरविंद केजरीवाल पर कोर्ट ने लगाया जुर्माना ]
[ VIDEO: राहुल गांधी को मोदी-अडानी नेक्सस मामले को ट्विटर से सड़कों पर ले जाना चाहिए ]
In March, the Gujarat court convicted Rahul Gandhi to the maximum prison sentence in this case – which is two years and which served as a ground to disqualify him from parliament.
Although it is being projected as a court decision to disqualify Rahul Gandhi from parliament, he must understand that in all autocratic regimes that work under the garb of democratic systems, the rulers silently use complicit courts to impose their own decisions on opponents to suppress all kinds of dissent.
The court had suspended the Congress leader’s prison sentence for 30 days allowing him to apply for bail. The suspension period expires on April 22. Congress said it is an attempt by the Modi regime to terrorize Rahul Gandhi who is questioning Modi on various issues.
For the past couple of months, Rahul Gandhi has been accusing Modi of his criminal collusion with Indian oligarch Gautam Adani who is facing a series of corporate fraud allegations.
Congress has planned to move the high court to get Rahul Gandhi’s conviction canceled or deferred. But if the high court also does not take a decision in Rahul Gandhi’s favour by April 22, 2023, he will have to go to jail.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He has also launched the “Power Play: Lok Sabha Election 2024 in India” editorial section to cover the news, events, and other developments related to the 2024 election.
