Rahul Gandhi Found Guilty By Surat Court In 2019 For Remarks About “Modi Surname”

Guwahati: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was found guilty on Thursday and given a two-year prison sentence in a 2019 defamation lawsuit brought against him for allegedly making disparaging remarks about the “Modi surname.”

But, after the court issued the judgement and Rahul Gandhi paid a Rs 10,000 bail fee, he was also granted bail. However, because he is a serving member of parliament, he won’t be immediately disqualified and will have 30 days to challenge the ruling.

In the build-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha general elections, Rahul Gandhi had allegedly remarked, “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” during a public rally at Kolar in Karnataka.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi, the Wayanad MP, based on this information.

Before today’s judgement, Rahul Gandhi appeared before the Surat court. The last time he appeared in court was in October 2021 to give testimony in a defamation action brought against him under IPC sections 499 and 500.

Rahul Gandhi had previously entered a not guilty plea to the allegations brought against him in court.

Speaking ahead of the court’s verdict, Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said, “Rahul Gandhi will remain present in the court when it pronounces its judgment in the criminal defamation case against him. He has made it clear that we respect the court whatever its judgment. We will welcome our leader and show him our support. The Congress cannot be browbeaten with cases like these.”

Meanwhile, BJP leader and Union law minister Kiren Rijiju said, “I’ll see the details of the order before I say anything. Whatever Rahul Gandhi speaks it always affects Congress party and the entire nation in a negative way. Some Congress MPs told me that because of his attitude, Congress is suffering.”