'Modi surname' case: Rahul punished for speaking truth, says Congress

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday said former party chief Rahul Gandhi will file an appeal against a Gujarat court verdict holding him guilty in a 2019 criminal defamation case and alleged that he was being "punished" for raising his voice for the truth.

A court in Surat sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail in the case, filed on a complaint by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi for his alleged remark, "How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?"

The court also granted Gandhi bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court, his lawyer Babu Mangukiya said.

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Several Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, spoke out angrily on the matter.

"A scared machinery of power is trying to suppress the voice of Rahul Gandhi through 'saam, daam, dand, bhed' (every trick in the book)," Priyanka Gandhi said in Hindi on Twitter.

"My brother has never been afraid, nor will he ever be. He has lived is life speaking the truth, will continue to speak the truth. Will continue to raise the voice of the people of the country," she said.

डरी हुई सत्ता की पूरी मशीनरी साम, दाम, दंड, भेद लगाकर @RahulGandhi जी की आवाज को दबाने की कोशिश कर रही है।

मेरे भाई न कभी डरे हैं, न कभी डरेंगे। सच बोलते हुए जिये हैं, सच बोलते रहेंगे। देश के लोगों की आवाज उठाते रहेंगे।

सच्चाई की ताकत व करोड़ों देशवासियों का प्यार उनके साथ है।

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) March 23, 2023

Saying that an appeal will be filed in the matter, Kharge slammed the BJP. If they point one finger at others there are four fingers pointed at them also, he said on Twitter.

The Congress said in a tweet in Hindi, "Everyone knows, Rahul Gandhi ji is raising his voice against a dictator. Showing the courage to call a wrong, a wrong. The dictator is rattled by this courage. He is trying to intimidate sometimes via ED, sometimes via police, sometimes via case, sometimes via punishment," the party said.

"...We will fight and win," the party said.

Reacting to the development, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "This is new India, If you raise your voice against injustice, then ED-CBI, police, FIR will be imposed. Rahul Gandhi ji is also being punished for speaking the truth, for raising his voice against a dictator," Ramesh said. The law of the country gives an opportunity to appeal to Rahul Gandhi and he will exercise this right, he said.