A key Indian opposition leader has been disqualified from parliament after he was sentenced to two years in jail for making defamatory remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Rahul Gandhi, 52, was convicted in a magistrates’ court on Thursday, sparking protests among his Congress party members in some parts of the country.
Officials in the Congress party said the judgment was politically motivated and blamed Mr Modi’s government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which has dismissed the accusations.
Gandhi, who is chairman of the Indian Youth Congress – the youth wing of the Congress party – was found guilty of defamation over comments he made relating to Mr Modi’s surname at a 2019 rally before the last general election.
Gandhi asked the crowd at the event as he criticised the prime minister’s economic policies: “Why do all thieves have Modi as their surname?”
He went on to name fugitive Indian diamond tycoon Nirav Modi, banned Indian Premier League boss Lalit Modi and Narendra Modi.
Gandhi’s great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minister of India, and his grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi also held the position.
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The defamation case against Gandhi was filed by a BJP leader in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
The complainant, Purnesh Modi, said Gandhi’s comments “defamed the entire Modi community”.
Modi is a common surname in the state.
BJP president J P Nadda claimed Gandhi had insulted a section of the Indian people who share the same surname as Mr Modi.
“It is one thing to question government regarding the policies, that would be considered a healthy debate, but clearly the Congress has never followed such rules,” he said.
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‘Gandhi direct threat to Modi government’
However Pradip Bhattacharya, a Congress party politician from West Bengal state, claimed the BJP was “fearful about the rise” of Gandhi and he was a “direct threat” to the Modi government.
There have reportedly been protests by Gandhi’s backers outside Congress party offices and in parts of northern Jammu city as well as in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat states.
In a statement, parliament said Gandhi “stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha”, referring to the lower house.
Defendant was granted bail
Gandhi was convicted by a court in Gujarat, which also granted him bail and suspended the two-year sentence for one month which gives him time to appeal.
Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Congress party, said the politician will appeal against the verdict in a higher court and called Mr Modi’s government “cowardly and dictatorial”.
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Two senior Congress leaders said Gandhi will respect the local court’s verdict and will not attend parliament.
“It is a fact that his membership stands disqualified for now but we will challenge the conviction in the court to ensure he can attend parliament proceedings,” said an unnamed federal politician who is also a Congress leader.
Congress party officials said they are also “depending on regional opposition parties” to increase political support against the verdict.
