Welcome SC order on Rahul's case, will keep fighting in courts: BJP MLA Purnesh Modi

Modi had said that Gandhi’s comments were an insult to his community.

BJP MLA Purnesh Modi who had filed a defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over his ‘Modi surname' remark says he will continue to fight his case in the court of law.

Speaking to reporters, Modi, who contended that Gandhi had defamed people from the ‘Modh Vanik’ caste of Gujarat, said that he welcomed the apex court’s verdict.

“Today, the Supreme Court has stayed Rahul Gandhi’s conviction. We welcome this verdict given by the court. We will continue our legal battle in court,” Modi said.

He said that Gandhi’s comments were an insult to his community. At an election rally, Gandhi had said, “Why are all thieves named Modi.”

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“In 2019, (then) Congress President Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Kolar, which is 100 km from Bengaluru in Karnataka, insulted all those who bear the Modi name and surname, or are from the Modi caste or community. The community is a big constituent of the Other Backward Classes,” Modi said.

He said that he filed a petition at a trial court in Surat, and the court had sentenced Gandhi to two years in prison in 2023. “All legal proceedings were followed. Rahul Gandhi then filed a petition in the Surat Sessions Court for a stay on conviction, but his request was denied. The judgement was in our favour. He then went to the High Court, which also denied the stay on conviction, and the judgement was in our favour,” Modi said.

In the Supreme Court, Gandhi argued that Modi was not Purnesh’s surname. “First of all, (the complainant) Purnesh Modi’s original surname is not Modi,” senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi said while advising on behalf of Gandhi.