Rahul Gandhi case highlights: Political row erupts over Surat court's verdict

Rahul Gandhi defamation case highlights: Rahul Gandhi was present at the Surat court on Thursday as it convicted him in a defamation case dating back to 2019.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. (Hindustan Times)

A local court in Gujarat's Surat given a two-year term to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for a comment which he made in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections where he wondered how ‘all thieves have Modi as the common surname’.  The verdict has been suspended for 30 days, on request of his legal team, to give him a chance to appeal the guilty verdict....Read More

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• 23 Mar 2023, 11:15:35 PM IST

  Congress calls Oppn meet over Surat court order against Rahul Gandhi

  Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday has called MPs from all Opposition parties for a meeting over Surat court's verdict against Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case. Read more

• 23 Mar 2023, 09:47:06 PM IST

  Varanasi court quashes plea seeking FIR against Rahul Gandhi over his UK speech

  A local court in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi on Thursday rejected a plea seeking an FIR against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his speech he made at the Cambridge University during his recent visit to the UK. Read more

• 23 Mar 2023, 09:07:30 PM IST

  Kamal Haasan extends support to Rahul Gandhi

  Actor Kamal Haasan has extended support to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi after Surat court gave a two-year term on a defamation case. He said Rahul Gandhi has ‘seen more testing times and unfair moments’ and that he will get his justice. 

• 23 Mar 2023, 07:58:17 PM IST

  Congress' reaction shows they don't respect country's institutions: Pralhad Joshi

  “The reactions of leaders of Congress make it clear that they don't respect the institutions of the country. This is quite evident that they have scant respect for the institutions and they are repeatedly showing it,” said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Surat Court's verdict on Rahul Gandhi. (ANI)

• 23 Mar 2023, 07:27:10 PM IST

  Raghav Chadha to introduce Bill agianst defamation. What law says

  Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Thursday said he will introduce the Decriminalisation of Defamation Bill, 2023, to repeal Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Read more

• 23 Mar 2023, 06:45:21 PM IST

  ‘Rahul Gandhi defies, disrespects every democratic institution’: Piyush Goyal

  Union minister Piyush Goyal said Congress MP Rahul Gandhi must come to terms with the fact that today ‘PM Narendra Modi is the most loved, admired & the most trusted leader in India and across the world’. He further demanded Congress MP's apology for his ‘irresponsible, defamatory statement’. 

• 23 Mar 2023, 05:57:42 PM IST

  Rahul Gandhi arrives at his residence

• 23 Mar 2023, 05:17:05 PM IST

  Rahul Gandhi lands in Delhi, Congress workers raise slogan in his support

• 23 Mar 2023, 05:04:03 PM IST

  Youth Congress in Kerala carries out protest march against Surat court's verdict

  Youth Congress workers carried out a protest march to Rajbhavan against the Surat Court verdict against Rahul Gandhi. (ANI)

• 23 Mar 2023, 04:59:47 PM IST

  Congress workers gather at Delhi's IGI airport in support of Rahul Gandhi

  Congress workers have reached Delhi's IGI airport to receive Rahul Gandhi, who is scheduled to return from Gujarat. They have raised slogans in support of the Congress MP.

• 23 Mar 2023, 04:57:31 PM IST

  Congress' Karti Chidambaram criticises BJP over verdict against Rahul Gandhi

  Congress MP Kart Chidambaram said the Bharatiya Janata Party uses outdated, crude, colonial tools to silence political opponents. “This is a Govt which uses outdated, crude, colonial tools to silence vocal political opponents. This is yet another example of a crude attempt to silence a political opponent. This judgement will be appealed, we know the playbook of the Govt. We are well prepared for it. Party is solidly behind Rahul Gandhi,” he told ANI.

• 23 Mar 2023, 04:16:20 PM IST

  AAP's Raghav Chadha to introduce Decriminalisation of Defamation Bill, 2023

  Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha said that he will introduce the Decriminalisation of Defamation Bill, 2023 in a bid to repeal the ‘relics of colonial past’. 

• 23 Mar 2023, 04:02:37 PM IST

  ‘Whenever Rahul Gandhi speaks…’: Union minister Kiren Rijiju

  Union law and justice minister Kiren Rijiju said whenever Congress MP Rahul Gandhi speaks, it always affects his party and the country. He responded amid political uproar between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and opposition parties after a Gujarat court gave a two-year term to the Congress MP for a comment which he made in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections where he wondered how ‘all thieves have Modi as the common surname’.

• 23 Mar 2023, 03:56:07 PM IST

  Rajnath Singh says Rahul Gandhi must take court's verdict as a lesson

  Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi should take the Surat Court judgement as a learning that “words are deadlier than weapons”. Read more

• 23 Mar 2023, 03:16:46 PM IST

  'Congress wants Rahul Gandhi to utter abuses’: Ravi Shankar Prasad

  Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said if Rahul Gandhi has the right to ‘disrespect’ or ‘abuse’ someone then anybody who is ‘at dismay’ due to it has the right to file a defamation case against him. Read more

• 23 Mar 2023, 03:06:37 PM IST

  ‘Shah and Shahanshah…’: Congress' Pawan Khera criticises BJP over Surat court's verdict against Rahul Gandhi

  'Shah and Shahanshah' want an India where a silent opposition is lying in the corner of a room, senior Congress leader Pawan Khera said in response to Surat court's verdict against Rahul Gandhi over his 2019 comment where he wondered how ‘all thieves have Modi surnames’.

• 23 Mar 2023, 02:58:02 PM IST

  BJP reacts as Kejriwal backs Rahul Gandhi

  The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday slammed its direct rival in Delhi Aam Aadmi Party after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal came out in support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after he was sentenced to two years in jail in a defamation case, alleging that a conspiracy was being hatched to “eliminate” non-BJP leaders and parties by prosecuting them. Read more

• 23 Mar 2023, 02:37:27 PM IST

  Congress MPs will reach IGI airport to receive Rahul Gandhi today

  Amid uproar over Surat court's verdict, Congress MPs will reach the Indira Gandhi International airport to receive Rahul Gandhi today. Further details awaited.

• 23 Mar 2023, 02:20:41 PM IST

  AAP's Raghav Chadha disagrees with Surat court's verdict against Rahul Gandhi

  Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha said he ‘respectfully disagree’ with Surat court's verdict against Rahul Gandhi over his 2019 speech. 

• 23 Mar 2023, 02:06:11 PM IST

  WATCH: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi reaches Surat airport

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:58:21 PM IST

  Maharashtra ruling party's legislators hit a poster of Gandhi with shoes

  

  Hours after senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was convicted in a defamation case, the legislators from ruling parties - Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena and BJP - hit a poster of Gandhi with shoes and chappals in the Vidhan Bhavan premises for insulting Hindutva ideologue Veer Savakar during Maharashtra leg of 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' held last year.

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:52:22 PM IST

  What Rahul Gandhi had said in 2019?

  The case was filed by ex-Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi who claimed Gandhi had defamed the Modi community by his remark.

  The Congress leader’s remarks followed an earlier reference to fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi; "Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi...how come they all have Modi as common surname? How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?" Gandhi had asked.

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:48:22 PM IST

  Priyanka Chaturvedi on Rahul Gandhi's conviction

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:45:44 PM IST

  Tamil Nadu: Congress workers protest in Chennai against the verdict

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:44:28 PM IST

  Rahul Gandhi should take a lesson from this: Rajnath Singh

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:43:21 PM IST

  Opposition parties on Gandhi's defamation case verdict

  The court order became a rallying point for the opposition leaders as two non-Congress chief ministers Delhi's Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand's Hemant Soren protested against the verdict.

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:39:21 PM IST

  BJP trying to frighten Rahul Gandhi: Congress

  BJP trying to frighten Rahul into silence, say Congress leaders.

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:37:01 PM IST

  What Rahul Gandhi's lawyer said before the verdict

  Rahul Gandhi's lawyer said, “we are not asking for mercy and we are going for an appeal. And whatever it was, it was not intentional. There was no harm to the complainant or to any other person. So the minimum punishment should be given to Rahul Gandhi”, advocate Jignesh said to PTI before the court pronounced the punishment. 

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:33:42 PM IST

  What now for Rahul Gandhi?

  Rahul Gandhi cannot approach the Gujarat High Court or Supreme Court at this time since this is a criminal case, but a third party could - on grounds the procedure and manner of the Surat court's ruling hurt the larger public interest.

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:30:39 PM IST

  ‘Don’t be afraid': Congress

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:26:42 PM IST

  Rahul Gandhi tore ordinance in 2013 for 3-month protection from disqualification

  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in a criminal defamation case will not immediately disqualify him as a Member of Parliament (MP). The Congress retains the option to go to a higher court, which, the party said, is one its legal team will pursue. Read more

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:25:31 PM IST

  Jharkhand CM Soren disagrees from court's verdict on Rahul Gandhi

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:20:57 PM IST

  Can Rahul Gandhi be disqualified as MP?

  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

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:19:25 PM IST

  BJP welcomes the court verdict

  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.

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:18:33 PM IST

  Supriya Shrinate on verdict

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:15:20 PM IST

  Manickam Tagore on Rahul Gandhi's conviction

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:13:56 PM IST

  The tyrant is nervous about this “courage”:  Revanth Reddy

  "Rahul Gandhi is raising his voice against dictatorship. He has the courage to say what is wrong is wrong. The tyrant is nervous about this “COURAGE”. We will fight and win", tweeted Revanth Reddy, Telangana Congress chief

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:07:19 PM IST

  Why Rahul will not lose Lok Sabha membership?

  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in Surat district in a criminal defamation case will not immediately disqualify him as an MP. 

  “A sentence suspended means that Gandhi has been found guilty but his punishment will not be applicable immeediately,” said SC lawyer Upamanyu Hazarika. These 30 days will be crucial for Gandhi. If he can get a higher court to stay or set aside the Surat district court’s order, he can continue to be a MP.

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:03:26 PM IST

  Chhattisgarh CM Baghel on Rahul Gandhi's conviction

  There is an attempt to suppress the media, there is an attempt to influence the judiciary & they are taking action against the people of different political parties at this level: Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel on Rahul Gandhi being convicted by the Surat District Court

• 23 Mar 2023, 01:00:32 PM IST

  Congress President on Rahul Gandhi's case verdict

• 23 Mar 2023, 12:54:36 PM IST

  Priyanka Gandhi on Brother Rahul Gandhi's conviction

• 23 Mar 2023, 12:53:13 PM IST

  Watch: What Rahul Gandhi said in Surat court

  Rahul Gandhi told the court that he has been raising the voices of the people. Whatever he said was not intentional, advocate Jignest told news agency PTI. Read more

• 23 Mar 2023, 12:51:24 PM IST

  ‘Gandhi is not afraid’, tweets Congress

• 23 Mar 2023, 12:49:58 PM IST

  'We have differences but...': Kejriwal's tweet after Rahul Gandhi found guilty

  Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal backed Rahul Gandhi Thursday after the Congress MP was handed a suspended two-year jail term for remarks a Gujarat court ruled found defamatory. Read more

• 23 Mar 2023, 12:47:49 PM IST

  ‘This is new India’: Jairam Ramesh on Rahul Gandhi's defamation case verdict

• 23 Mar 2023, 12:45:41 PM IST

  ‘Once a Liar. Always a Liar’: BJP's Manjinder Sirsa

• 23 Mar 2023, 12:44:14 PM IST

  Digvijay Singh on Rahul Gandhi's defamation case verdict

• 23 Mar 2023, 12:42:46 PM IST

  ‘I welcome the judgement’: MLA who filed the suit against Gandhi

• 23 Mar 2023, 12:41:24 PM IST

  Rahul Gandhi retains his Lok Sabha membership

  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in Surat district in a criminal defamation case will not immediately disqualify him as an MP. The Congress also retains the option to go to higher court, which its legal team is going to pursue. As of now, Gandhi retains his Lok Sabha membership as the Surat Court has suspended its sentence for 30 days.

• 23 Mar 2023, 12:40:01 PM IST

  ‘Rahul Gandhi is a courageous man’: Ashok Gehlot