‘Satyamev Jayate’: Congress Fold, Oppn Leaders Hail SC Verdict in Rahul Gandhi’s Defamation Case – News18

As the Supreme Court passed an order to stay the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in a 2019 defamation case over his Modi surname remark, several Congress and Opposition leaders on Friday welcomed the verdict and called it a “victory of truth and justice” and a “joyous moment”. The reactions came soon after the apex court revived his position as the Member of Parliament.

A three-judge bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha, and Sanjay Kumar said no reason was given by the trial court judge while convicting Gandhi except that he was admonished by the apex court in a contempt case. The top court had closed the contempt proceedings against Gandhi for wrongly attributing to it his “chowkidar chor hai” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the Rafale case, with a warning to be more careful in future after the senior Congress leader tendered an unconditional apology.

Welcoming the top court ruling, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said while just 24 hours were taken to disqualify Gandhi from Lok Sabha after his conviction in a defamation case, it is to be seen how long will it take to reinstate him after the Supreme Court relief.

Addressing a press conference alongside Gandhi soon after the apex court stayed the conviction in a 2019 defamation case over his Modi surname remark, Kharge, “It is a day of happiness, democracy has won, Constitution has won, Satymeva Jayate.” He said the Constitution is alive and this is an example that one can get justice.

“This is the victory of the common people. This is not just Rahul Gandhi’s victory, this is the victory of all the people of the country, victory of democracy and of constitutional principles. The person who fights for truth, for the country’s interest, to strengthen the country, for the youth of the country, against rising prices, the person who fights and makes people aware, who walked 4,000 km from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and met various people, I think their prayers are with us and it is therefore victory of the people,” Kharge said.

Another Congress leader Sachin Pilot told CNN-News18, “We had full faith in our judicial system. The Supreme Court has lived up to our belief. The SC has showed that the lower courts were not right and that the matter was politicised.”

Taking to Twitter, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “Satyamev Jayate” (Truth alone triumphs).

Calling it a “joyous” day, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told news agency ANI, “Khushi ka din hai. I will write to the Lok Sabha Speaker today itself and on Monday I will demand. If I am in Parliament I’ll visit the Speaker or at least I will speak over the phone.”

Speaking to CNN-News18, Congress MP KC Venugopal said, “Today we got relief from SC and now we will see how much time it will take for the Speaker to reinstate Rahul Gandhi’s membership.”

Meanwhile, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav expressed elation over the apex court judgement that paved Gandhi’s way for the revival of his Lok Sabha membership. Yadav, whose RJD has been an ally of the Congress, expressed his delight through a tweet, in Hindi, ending with the Sanskrit saying: “Satyamev Jayate (Truth shall triumph)” and the hashtag “INDIA”, denoting the recently formed coalition of parties opposed to the BJP.

“Honourable Supreme Court’s judgement on Rahul Gandhi ji is commendable. But for this shock, the BJP’s network thriving on slander would have continued with the conspiracy to eject many other opposition leaders from the legislature,” he tweeted.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hailed the court order and tweeted, “I am happy with the news about the MP-ship of @RahulGandhi. This will further strengthen the resolve of the INDIA alliance to unitedly fight for our motherland and win. A victory of the judiciary!”

TMC MP Mahua Moitra retweeted her party leader’s comments, adding: “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice. United INDIA @RahulGandhi”.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar also hailed the court decision saying that “justice has prevailed”.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also welcomed the court’s stay on Gandhi’s conviction in a 2019 defamation case saying it reinforces people’s trust in democracy and judicial system. “I welcome Hon’ble Supreme Court’s intervention in an unjust defamation case against Rahul Gandhi ji. It reinforces people’s trust in Indian democracy and the judicial system. Congratulations to him and to the people of Wayanad,” the AAP national convener said in a tweet.

BJP Reacts

After the apex court’s verdict, the BJP said Parliament “can do with some levity for now” but the Congress leader continues to be on thin ice as several other criminal defamation cases are pending against him.

Reacting to the development, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said in a tweet, “Rahul Gandhi may have survived this one but for how long?” There are several other criminal defamation cases pending against Gandhi, including “the high profile case of mudslinging the venerable Veer Savarkar”, filed by the freedom fighter’s family, Malviya wrote on Twitter, recently rebranded as X.

“Rahul Gandhi is also an accused, along with his mother Sonia Gandhi, in the National Herald scam, and currently out on bail,” the BJP leader added.

Conviction in any of these cases can lead to Gandhi’s disqualification again, he added.

“Rahul Gandhi is on thin ice here. But, for now the Parliament can do with some levity,” Malviya said.

“On an earlier occasion, no less than the Supreme Court had pulled Gandhi up for attributing wrongly to them an observation (that) they had not made,” the BJP leader said.

About 2019 defamation case over Modi Surname remark

Former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi had in 2019 filed a criminal defamation case against Gandhi over his “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” remark made during an election rally in Kolar in Karnataka on April 13 of the same year.

Earlier this year, Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha following his conviction by a Surat Court in a 2019 criminal defamation case in regard to his remarks against the Modi surname. The Gujarat High Court dismissed his plea for relief in July.

The term of the 17th Lok Sabha ends in May 2024.

(with inputs from PTI)