Rahul Gandhi defamation case: “Travesty of justice,” asserts the Congress as the Gujarat High Court rejects his petition to suspend his conviction.
As soon as the Gujarat High Court denied Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s request for a stay on his conviction in the criminal defamation case involving his “Modi surname” remark, the party announced on Friday that the ruling has “redoubled” its resolve to pursue the case and that it will appeal the order to the Supreme Court.
“We have one more option remaining… the Supreme Court.” Let’s see. AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal stated as much while addressing a party programme in Kozhikode, Kerala, on behalf of the Congress party.
“We will review the Gujarat High Court’s ruling on the conviction of Shri Rahul Gandhi ji and investigate all available legal alternatives. Rahul Ji is a ferocious opponent of the Modi administration. No force will muzzle him, the truth will ultimately triumph, and justice will prevail. “Every patriotic Indian is supporting Rahul ji in this fight,” tweeted Venugopal.
We will study the Gujarat HC verdict on Sh. @RahulGandhi ji’s conviction and explore all available legal options.
Rahul ji is a fierce voice that takes the Modi government head on. No force can silence him, the truth will triumph and justice will ultimately prevail. Every…
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) July 7, 2023
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rahul’s sister and a Congress leader, tweeted a poem in Hindi with the following translation: “The arrogant regime is using every trick to suppress the truth; it is using every means, price, punishment, discrimination, deceit, and hypocrisy to divert attention from questions related to the public’s best interests.”
She added, “He (Rahul Gandhi) is willing to pay any price, and despite all the attacks and tactics of the arrogant BJP government, he has not shied away from raising public questions like a true patriot.”
“समर शेष है, जनगंगा को खुल कर लहराने दो
शिखरों को डूबने और मुकुटों को बह जाने दो
पथरीली ऊँची जमीन है? तो उसको तोड़ेंगे
समतल पीटे बिना समर की भूमि नहीं छोड़ेंगे
समर शेष है, चलो ज्योतियों के बरसाते तीर
खण्ड-खण्ड हो गिरे विषमता की काली जंजीर”श्री राहुल गांधी जी इस अहंकारी सत्ता के…
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) July 7, 2023
“We have taken notice of the verdict of the single-judge bench of the Gujarat High Court regarding Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification. As is proper, the reasoning of the Honourable Judge is being examined… The ruling only strengthens our resolve to pursue the matter further,’ tweeted Jairam Ramesh, general secretary of the Congress in charge of communications.
Travesty of justice !
Instead of punishing ‘Bank Fraudsters’ like Nirav Modi, Ami Modi, Neeshal Modi, Mehul Choksi & ilk, the “messenger” exposing the deceit & swindling of public money is being punished.
Sh. Rahul Gandhi has chosen the path of truth, of righteousness, of… pic.twitter.com/HywkyQl4Yz
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) July 7, 2023
We have noted the verdict of the single-judge bench of the Gujarat High Court on the disqualification of @RahulGandhi. The reasoning of the Hon’ble judge is being studied, as it should be, and Dr. Abhishek Singhvi will be briefing the media in detail at 3pm. The judgement only…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 7, 2023
“Instead of punishing ‘Bank Fraudsters’ like Nirav Modi, Ami Modi, Neeshal Modi, Mehul Choksi and ilk, the messenger exposing the deceit and theft of public funds is being punished,” Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said of the court’s ruling.
The law sometimes sleeps but never dies…….. You hang the doves and acquit the vultures…….. when the whistleblower is annihilated and those he exposes are protected; democracy is doomed !!!@RahulGandhi is the fearless torch-bearer of constitutional values , “knight in… pic.twitter.com/YqK74yXqxg
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) July 7, 2023
“The law occasionally slumbers but never expires…You hang the doves but release the predators…”Democracy is doomed when the whistleblower is eliminated, and those he exposes are protected,” tweeted party leader Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Workers from the Rajasthan Congress wore a black band and staged a protest march in Jaipur to protest the verdict.
“The entire nation, all opposition parties, and the general populace support Rahul Gandhi. DK Shivakumar, leader of the Karnataka Congress, told reporters, “He is a great leader who has fought across the nation to unite it.”
In the meantime, the BJP asserted that Rahul Gandhi has a propensity of defaming and maligning eminent leaders. “We would like to question why the Congress party cannot control Rahul Gandhi. Why can’t he be taught to communicate correctly? He is your captain. Had he apologised in this matter, it would have been resolved,” Ravi Shankar Prasad, a member of the BJP, said during a press conference.
Today, the Gujarat High Court denied Rahul’s request for a stay of execution in the case in which he was sentenced to two years in prison. The Supreme Court upheld the earlier sessions court’s refusal to grant a stay of execution, characterising it as “just and legal.”
The court also noted that Gandhi faces nearly ten criminal cases, including one brought by VD Savarkar’s descendant for criminal defamation.
In the 2019 case submitted by BJP Gujarat MLA Purnesh Modi, a metropolitan magistrate’s court in Surat sentenced Gandhi to two years in prison on March 23 after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation). Gandhi had allegedly remarked, “Why do all thieves share the Modi surname?” during an April 2019 political campaign in Kolar, Karnataka.
