TLI Staff
New Delhi: In a big blow to senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, a Gujarat court on Thursday dismissed his plea challenging conviction in a defamation case over his “Modi surname” remark in an election rally in 2019.
The rejection has dashed all his hopes of getting reinstated as Member of Parliament (MP).
Rahul Gandhi had approached the court seeking stay of his conviction by a trial court which sentenced him two years of jail in the case involving controversial remarks.
The Congress leader had argued that the trial court treated him harshly, overwhelmingly influenced by his status as an MP.
The sessions court, however, refused to buy his arguments.
Rahul Gandhi, 52, was convicted by a court in Gujarat and sentenced to two years of jail on March 23 for his speech during the 2019 Lok Sabha campaign.
BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi had filed the case over Rahul Gandhi for his remarks saying that the Congress leader’s remarks had insulted the whole Modi community.
Soon after Gandhi’s conviction in the defamation case, Lok Sabha disqualified him from the House as its member.
As a result, Gandhi’s Lok Sabha seat in Kerala stands vacant. In case, the court had stayed his conviction today his disqualification from Lok Sabha could have been revoked.