Senior Congress leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the chief ministers of the three Congress-ruled states, and other national and state party leaders may accompany him in court, the sources said.
Posted Date – Monday, 03/04/23 at 10:30am
Surat: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will travel to the Gujarat city of Surat on Monday to appeal to the courts against his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his “surname Modi” remarks.
Senior Congress leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the chief ministers of the three Congress-ruled states, and other national and state party leaders may accompany him in court, the sources said.
Gandhi’s lawyer said the matter was likely to be heard by the Sessions Court on Monday.
Congressional leaders will seek a session court stay of his sentence, they said.
According to congressional sources, Gandhi will land in Surat around 2pm.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress Rajya Sabha member KC Venugopal and other senior party leaders will also be in Surat.
Congress Secretary-General Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Himachal Pradesh (Himachal Pradesh) Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is also likely to be present in the city when Gandhi hands over the court.
Chief Justice HH Varma’s court convicted Gandhi, 52, on March 23 and sentenced him to two years in prison in a criminal defamation case brought against him in 2019 for his “surname Modi” remarks.
It convicted the Congress leader under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code.
The court also granted him bail suspended for 30 days to allow him to appeal to a higher court.
The former Congress president was disqualified as a senator following his March 24 conviction by a Surat court.
After his disqualification, Gandhi will not be able to contest elections for eight years unless a higher court upholds his conviction and sentence.
The People’s Liberation Army of India and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi filed a lawsuit against Gandhi over the Congress leader’s alleged statement “Why do all the thieves have Modi as a common surname?” Gandhi, a former member of Parliament for Wayanad, Kerala, made the remarks while speaking at a rally in Kolar, Karnataka, on April 13, 2019, during the Lok Sabha election campaign.
The two-year sentence resulted in his disqualification from parliament under the 1951 Representation of the People Act.
The RP Act provides that a Member of Parliament or Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) who is convicted of any offense and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than two years shall be disqualified from the date of conviction.
