As a court convicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a Modi defamation case, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju stated on Thursday that whatever the former Congress chairman says always has a detrimental impact on the party and the entire nation.
Speaking outside the parliament, Rijiju said, “I’ll see the details of the order before I say anything. Whatever Rahul Gandhi speaks it always affects the Congress party and the entire nation in a negative way”.
In a criminal defamation case brought against him over his claimed ‘Modi surname’ comment, the Surat District Court sentenced Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to two years in prison on Thursday. The judge then granted him bail.
Union Minister said that a handful of Congress MPs told him that the Congress party is suffering as a result of Rahul Gandhi’s attitude. Earlier Thursday, a Surat court found Congress leader Rahul Gandhi guilty in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his claimed ‘Modi surname’ statements.
The Surat District Court pronounced the verdict in the case for his alleged “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” remarks on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.
Rahul Gandhi allegedly made the remarks regarding Modi’s surname at a rally in Kolar, Karnataka, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma ended hearing closing arguments from both parties last week and slated March 23 for a decision in the four-year-old defamation case.