KYIV: Top Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has filed an appeal against his recent defamation conviction, which led to his expulsion from parliament.
Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to two years in jail in a case relating to remarks he made in 2019 that were deemed insulting to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and those sharing his surname.
The conviction also made Gandhi ineligible to stand in the next year’s elections, which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was expected to win comfortably.
Critics have accused Modi’s government of using the defamation law to stifle opposition, and this case is one of several cases lodged against Gandhi in recent years.
Gandhi sought to overturn the verdict before the elections and described his appeal as a fight for truth and democracy.
Rahul Gandhi says he is fighting to save democracy
“This is a fight against the regime of favouring friends to save democracy. In this regard, truth is my only weapon; the truth is my sanctuary,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted after filing his appeal against his conviction to the court in Surat, which is scheduled to be heard next week.
The defamation conviction followed Gandhi’s repeated raising of questions about Modi’s relationship with business tycoon Gautam Adani, both in and outside parliament.
Adani and Modi have been close associates for decades. Adani’s business empire has come under renewed scrutiny after a US investment firm accused it of “brazen” corporate fraud, which Adani denies.
Gandhi is the leading figure of the opposition Congress party, which was once the dominant force in Indian politics but is now a shadow of its former self.
He comes from India’s premier political dynasty and is the son, grandson, and great-grandson of former prime ministers, including independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru.
Despite this pedigree, he has struggled to challenge the electoral success of Modi’s party and its appeals to India’s Hindu majority.
