In March, a Congress party leader was sentenced to a two-year jail term due to remarks he made about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname during an election rally in 2019. As a result of his conviction, the leader was disqualified as a Member of Parliament (MP).
However, a recent court decision on Friday has opened the path for his potential return to parliament and his ability to participate in the upcoming general elections next year.
For this to happen, the lower house of parliament’s office must lift the disqualification imposed on him. According to PDT Achary, a former secretary general of the lower house, this action needs to be taken promptly. He also mentioned that the leader could resume attending the ongoing parliamentary session starting from Monday.
Even if the matter regarding his conviction remains unresolved, the court’s ruling implies that he would still be eligible to stand as a candidate in the upcoming general elections.
The Supreme Court criticized the trial judge’s decision to impose the maximum sentence of two years on the Congress leader, stating that the given reasons lacked sufficient justification. The court also advised the leader to exercise greater caution when making such statements.
The defamation case against the Congress leader, filed by a member of the opposing BJP party, centered around comments he made during an election rally in Karnataka state in 2019. The leader had remarked on individuals with the surname Modi, mentioning names like Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, and questioning their association with alleged wrongdoing. Nirav Modi is a fugitive diamond magnate, while Lalit Modi was formerly involved with the Indian Premier League (IPL) and was banned by the country’s cricket board.
The complainant, the BJP lawmaker, alleged that these comments had defamed the entire Modi community. In response, the Congress leader stated that his comments were meant to highlight corruption and were not intended to target any specific community.
Previously, a lower court had granted bail to the Congress leader to allow him to appeal against his conviction. However, in July, the Gujarat high court rejected his appeal for a stay on the conviction.