Truth is my God: Rahul Gandhi quotes Mahatma in 1st reaction after conviction
Rahul Gandhi has been convicted in the 2019 defamation case in a Surat court. However, the two-year sentence has been suspended for a month as Rahul Gandhi will challenge the verdict.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted a quote of Mahatma Gandhi in his first reaction after he was convicted by a Surat court in a defamation case dating back to 2019. The court pronounced 2-year sentence to Rahul Gandhi for his remark 'how come all Modis are thieves' which he made in 2019 in Karnataka during the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi wrote: "My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God, non-violence the means to get it."
Rahul Gandhi convicted in 2019 defamation case: Follow LIVE updates
The BJP which has been up in arms demanding an apology from Rahul Gandhi for his latest remarks in the United Kingdom welcomed the court verdict. Union minister Kiren Rijiju said whatever Rahul Gandhi says proves to be dangerous for the party and the country.
On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi was present at the court when the verdict was announced. He said whatever he said was not intentional.
Any elected representative who is sentenced for any offence for a period of two years or more faces immediate disqualification under the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951. One provision of the Act that granted three months’ protection from disqualification was struck down in 2013 as “ultra vires” by the Supreme Court in the Lily Thomas case.
In Gandhi’s case, however, the Surat court that declared him guilty has itself suspended his sentence for 30 days in order to give him an opportunity to challenge its decision on the request on his legal team. This means that Gandhi’s disqualification will kick in after a month, unless he is able to get a stay on the conviction (and not just the sentence) from an appellate court – in this case a sessions court – within that period.
Gandhi cannot directly approach the high court or Supreme Court because his conviction is in a criminal case. However, a third party could move the higher judiciary seeking intervention on the grounds that the procedure and manner of the Surat court’s ruling hurt larger public interest.
