India: Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi sentenced to prison for defaming Modi

Rahul Gandhi arrives at New Delhi airport after his trial in a Surat court, March 23, 2023. REUTERS - ADNAN ABIDI

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The congress party MP, a former candidate for prime minister, risks being excluded from the Assembly, which would weaken an already divided Indian opposition.

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With our correspondent in New Delhi, Sébastien Farcis

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Why are all thieves called Modi?" said Rahul Gandhi at an election rally in 2019. He then quotes Lalit and Nirav Modi, two businessmen accused of embezzlement, and adds Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister. It doesn't take more than that for a regional MP from the Prime Minister's party, also called Modi, to file a defamation complaint on behalf of the entire Modi community.

This Thursday, March 23, the magistrate of a court in Gujarat, a region ruled for thirteen years by Narendra Modi, agrees with him, saying that the word of a deputy has a strong impact and that the crime is therefore serious. He sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years in prison, the maximum sentence.

A risk to his career

Hailing from the family of the country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who gave three prime ministers to India, Rahul Gandhi, 52, is the subject of two other defamation proceedings. He is also implicated in a case of alleged money laundering, which he disputes.

The opposition leader will appeal and should avoid imprisonment in the short term, but his political career is threatened, because in India, any MP sentenced to two years in prison or more is disqualified and banned from standing for six years. The future of Rahul Gandhi is therefore in the hands of the speaker of the lower house, which belongs to the prime minister's party.

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Read on on the same topics:

• India
• Narendra Damodardas Modi
• Justice