Modi Surname Case: 'Control Rahul Gandhi, train him to speak properly,' BJP tells Congress

“Why can’t you control Rahul Gandhi and train him to speak properly?” BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad asked Congress on Friday soon after the party said it would move the Supreme Court to challenge the Gujarat High Court’s verdict which dismissed plea seeking a stay on Gandhi’s conviction in a criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname” remark.

“…We would like to ask Congress – why can’t you control Rahul Gandhi? Why can’t you train him to speak properly? He is your leader,” Prasad said.

‘Chronic habit of Rahul Gandhi’

Intensifying his attack on the former Congress MP, Prasad said, “It has become a chronic habit of Rahul Gandhi to abuse, defame and almost showering the worst kind of abuses against eminent leaders and organisations.”

The BJP leader further said that had Rahul Gandhi apologised in this matter, it would have ended.

#WATCH | Gujarat High Court verdict on defamation case against Rahul Gandhi | BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad says, “…We would like to ask Congress – why can’t you control Rahul Gandhi? Why can’t you train him to speak properly? He is your leader. Had he apologised in this matter,… pic.twitter.com/DQ8sVNqIum

— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2023

Major setback for Rahul Gandhi

Gandhi's disqualification as MP remains stand as the Gujarat High Court on Friday dismissed his request to put on hold his conviction in a defamation case over his 2019 Modi surname remark.

Pronouncing the verdict, Justice Hemant Prachchhak of the high court said the session court refusing to grant a stay to Gandhi on his conviction earlier was "just, proper and legal".

The judge went on to say that no injustice will be caused to Gandhi if the conviction is not stayed.

The court also said Gandhi was facing nearly 10 criminal cases, including a criminal defamation case by VD Savarkar’s grandson.

As per reports, the Congress leader will now approach the Supreme Court with his request.

The defamation case was filed by Purnesh Modi – a BJP MLA and ex-Gujarat minister – in 2019 under IPC sections 499, 500 and 504 against Gandhi for a comment made by him at a campaign during the 2019 Lok Sabha general elections.

The case stated that Gandhi at an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019, had said, “Why all the thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi, have Modi in their names”.

The complainant said the Congress scion had defamed all people whose surname is Modi. According to rough estimates, there are about 130 million people in India who carry the surname.

On October 10, 2019, Gandhi appeared before the court and pleaded not guilty in the matter. In March 2022, the Gujarat High Court had stayed the proceedings in the case after the complainant sought a stay citing lack of sufficient evidence.

The stay was lifted in February 2023,  after Purnesh Modi told the Gujarat High Court that there was sufficient evidence including CDs and pen drives that had come on record of the trial court.

On March 23, 2023, Surat’s court found Gandhi guilty of defamation and sentenced him to two years in prison. The court approved his bail on a surety of Rs 15,000 and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal.

The two-year sentence led to the disqualification of Gandhi, an MP from Kerala’s Wayanad, under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.

Congress workers sport black band in protest

#WATCH | Rajasthan Congress workers sport a black band and carry out a protest march in Jaipur against the Gujarat High Court verdict on the defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over 'Modi surname' remark pic.twitter.com/u8DLtrY7Gs

— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) July 7, 2023

Rajasthan Congress workers sport a black band and carry out a protest march in Jaipur against the Gujarat High Court verdict on the defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over 'Modi surname' remark

With inputs from agencies