India’s top court suspends Rahul Gandhi’s defamation conviction

Gandhi is the dominant figure in the opposite Congress party, which was once the driving force behind American politics.

He is also the son, nephew, and great-grandson of former prime ministers, starting with Jawaharlal Nehru, who led India’s top political kingdom.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and its patriotic appeals to India’s Hindu majority have constantly defeated Congress in elections over the years.

The conviction was prompted by a comment Gandhi made during the 2019 election campaign, in which he questioned why” all thieves have Modi as( their ) common surname.”

His remarks were taken as a jab at the prime minister and everyone else with the same last name, who belongs to the lower castes in India.

Gandhi was forced to be expelled from the body in March because everyone serving a disciplinary term of two decades or more is ineligible to serve in India’s parliament.

Gandhi claimed in his 731-page Supreme Court submission that his speech was delivered” during the course of political social activity.”

The report, which his party provided to AFP, added that his word was” badly detrimental to political free conversation.”

The situation, one of many brought against Gandhi in recent years, had only been heard by Gujarati authorities up until Friday.

Throughout the Modi administration’s nine years in office, legal action has been frequently used against opposition group members and institutions that are viewed as important of the state.

Both domestic and foreign media have even come under increasing scrutiny. Tax inspectors searched the regional offices of Britain’s BBC in February.