Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison on Thursday for defaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he called a "
thief
" during the 2019 election campaign.
His lawyer immediately announced to appeal, a suspensive step.
"Denouncing corruption"
Figurehead of the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi had during this campaign estimated that "
all thieves have Modi as their surname
", which had earned him prosecution.
In the court of Surat, in the state of Gujarat (West) where Narendra Modi is from, Rahul Gandhi pleaded that he wanted to "
denounce corruption in the country
" without trying to insult anyone, his lawyer said. , BM Mangukiya.
Read alsoIn India, the journey of Rahul Gandhi to rebuild the Congress Party
In power since 2014, Narendra Modi had been comfortably re-elected for a second term with his Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He is regularly accused of seeking to neutralize his opponents by multiplying legal proceedings.
Coming from the family of the country's prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who gave three prime ministers to India, Rahul Gandhi, 52, is the subject of two other proceedings for defamation.
He is also implicated in a case of alleged money laundering, which he disputes.
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