SURAT: Top Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi appealed on Monday against the defamation conviction that resulted in his expulsion from parliament two weeks ago.

Gandhi, 52, who was sentenced to two years imprisonment in a case about remarks he made in 2019 seen as insulting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and those sharing his surname, is looking to overturn the conviction before elections due next year.

The sentence also renders Gandhi ineligible to stand in the poll, which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is widely expected to win convincingly.

Modi’s government is widely accused of using the defamation law to silence critics, and the case in the premier’s home state of Gujarat is one of several lodged against his chief opponent in recent years.

“This is a fight against the era of favouring friends, saving democracy. In this regard, the truth is my weapon; the truth is my sanctuary,” Gandhi tweeted after filing his appeal to the court in Surat.

It is scheduled to be heard next week.

Critics say the defamation conviction came after Gandhi repeatedly raised the issue of Modi’s relationship with business tycoon Gautam Adani, both inside and outside parliament.

The two men — both Gujaratis — have been close associates for decades, but Adani’s business empire has been subject to renewed scrutiny this year after a US investment firm accused it of “brazen” corporate fraud, which it denies.

Gandhi is the leading face of the opposition Congress party, once the dominant force in Indian politics but now a shadow of its former self.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2023