Rahul Gandhi sentenced two-year jail term: Congress has called a crucial meeting of all state presidents and CLPs on Friday (today) to sort out a strategy if Rahul Gandhi is disqualified as Lok Sabha MP (Member of Parliament) after he was sentenced to a two-year jail term in a criminal defamation case filed against him over his alleged Modi surname remark, sources said.
The Congress is presuming that Rahul Gandhi will be disqualified as Lok Sabha MP, after his conviction in the criminal defamation case by the Gujarat court.
A court at Surat in Gujarat sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his "why all thieves have Modi surname" remark. The court also granted the former Congress chief bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.
The sources also said that there was difference of opinion on whether Gandhi should go to Parliament on Friday as he faces possible disqualification from the Lok Sabha as per the Supreme Court judgement of July 2013.
Kharge meets top Congress leaders
After Gujarat court's verdict, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge held a meeting of top party leaders at his residence to discuss the situation arising out of Rahul Gandhi's conviction.
Sources said the party leaders discussed that immediate legal remedies be taken to challenge the Surat trial court verdict and get it stayed from a higher court.
Speaking on Rahul Gandhi's conviction in the defamation case, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said, "During the course of the inquiry, Court asked him again and again if he will apologise. He refused. When the Court has pronounced the verdict, he is not apologetic. If you look at the precedent of Rahul Gandhi, he is a habitual offender."
"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," the minister said.
"Concerned people will examine it (Court order) legally and then we will give a reaction," Joshi said when asked about speculations around Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha membership after today's conviction by a Surat Court.
Teli community demands apology from Rahu Gandhi
Slamming Rahul Gandhi over his 'Modi surname' comment, Akhil Bharatiya Teli Mahasangh chief Ram Narayan Sahu said, "As far as I can understand, he is not thinking about what he is saying. This is nothing else but desperation after being ousted from power. That is why they are speaking nonsense. Public understands everything. Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the entire Teli community."
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