Rahul Gandhi, the head of India’s opposition, was found guilty of defaming the last name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and consequently lost his seat in parliament. Following parliamentary rules that state a member loses their seat if convicted of a crime and sentenced to two or more years in prison, a court in the western city of Surat sentenced Gandhi to two years in prison on July 22 in the defamation case, disqualifying him from his seat in the lower house of Parliament as of March 23.
However, he won’t go to jail immediately as the court granted him bail for 30 days to file an appeal against the verdict. Several opposition leaders blocked proceedings in Parliament on July 23 and later tried to march to the president’s palace in support of Gandhi holding signs which read “Democracy in danger.”
The case against Gandhi dates back to an election rally in 2019 when he said: “Why do all thieves have Modi as their surname?” in reference to fugitive Indian diamond tycoon Nirav Modi, banned Indian Premier League boss Lalit Modi and Narendra Modi. Narendra Modi is not related to either of the other two. The defamation case was filed by a leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in western Gujarat state, claiming that Gandhi’s comments had “defamed the entire Modi community”. Gandhi is one of India’s main opposition leaders and is likely to go against Modi in 2024 when the prime minister seeks a third term.
After the verdict, Gandhi reportedly wrote on Twitter: “My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God, and non-violence the means to get it.” Gandhi’s disqualification comes as 14 political parties filed a petition in India’s top court, alleging that Modi’s government was using government investigation agencies against opposition leaders for alleged financial crimes. Congress Party President Mallikarjun Kharge stated that Gandhi will appeal the verdict in a higher court and called Modi’s government “cowardly and dictatorial”. The Supreme Court reportedly said it would take up the petition alleging government misuse of investigation agencies against opposition leaders for financial crimes on 5 April.
