A district court in the state of Gujarat has sentenced India's opposition leader Rahul Gandhi to two years in prison following a criminal defamation case on Thursday.

The case revolved around comments Gandhi made in 2019 about the surname of Prime Minister Narendra Modi being associated with criminals.

Immediately after the conviction, the court granted him bail and suspended its order for a period of 30 days.

This gives the Congress party leader time to appeal at a higher court and saves him from being disqualified as a member of parliament.

What did Gandhi say?

In April 2019, ahead of general elections, Rahul Gandhi, now 52, was campaigning at a rally in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. 

While addressing the crowd the Congress leader asked — "Why all the thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi, have Modi in their names?"

Nirav Modi is a fugitive and diamond tycoon while Lalit Modi is the former chief of cricket's Indian Premier League. 

The statement irked members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Modi.

A criminal defamation case was filed against Gandhi by Purnesh Modi, a BJP legislator who said that the statement had offended everyone named Modi in India.

During the conviction, Gandhi was present in the courtroom in Surat, a city in Gujarat which is the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Gandhi told the court that he made the comment to highlight corruption and not to defame any community.

Reactions to the court order

Welcoming the verdict, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the Congress party was "suffering" because of Rahul Gandhi's attitude.

"Whatever Rahul Gandhi says always affects Congress party and the entire nation in a negative way,” he told the news agency PTI. 

Meanwhile, Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal alleged that despite his differences with Gandhi, he does not agree with the verdict.

He called the move a "conspiracy" by the BJP and an attempt to "finish the opposition leaders and parties."

Soon after the court order the Congress Party tweeted that Gandhi will soon file an appeal after which "we will fight and win."

Rahul Gandhi himself tweeted a quote by Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi which said "My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God, and non-violence the means to get it."

The former Congress party leader is not related to the country's national hero, but is a member of the powerful Nehru-Gandhi family that has long been involved in the top echelons of politics in the country.

A crucial election in 2024

In the 2024 elections, Rahul Gandhi will go up against Modi, who will be seeking his third term as prime minister.

The Congress party, led by the Gandhi family, once dominated seats in parliament. Today, the party controls less than 10% of elected seats in the lower house.

They were crushed by the BJP in two consecutive elections, the most recent one being in 2019.

Narendra Modi continues to remain India's most popular politician and is predicted to win a third victory in the next general elections.

ns/es (Reuters, AFP)