An Indian court sentenced opposition leader Rahul Gandhi to prison for two years.
He was convicted of defamation in relation to comments he made about the name of India's prime minister at a rally in 2019.
- Gandhi said that all thieves appeared to share the last name "Modi."
- The comment apparently targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi by associating him with media reports about fugitive businessman Nirav Modi and former head of the Indian Premier League Lalit Modi.
- A
criminal case was filed against Gandhi after Purnesh Modi, a lawmaker
from India's ruling party, accused him of defaming people from the Modi
community.
- Gandhi plans to appeal the ruling, according to his party, the Indian National Congress.
- Gandhi served as president of the Indian National Congress between December 2017 and July 2019.
- The Indian National Congress is the leading opposition party to the ruling BJP.
