‘Truth alone triumphs’: Congress welcomes SC’s decision to stay Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in 2019 defamation case

Further, the Congress party posted a visual of the Congress leader holding an archive photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian billionaire Gautam Adani on a plane, saying, “I am coming, questions will continue.”

As celebrations broke out at All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in New Delhi following the verdict, Rahul Gandhi said that his duty of protecting the idea of India remains the same. He took to X, and wrote, “Come what may, my duty remains the same. Protect the idea of India.”

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, General Secretary of INC, thanking the apex court for its verdict, wrote on X, “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”

Jairam Ramesh, General Secretary and in-charge of Communications for the Congress party, also took to X, saying, “The Supreme Court judgment is a strong vindication of truth and justice. Despite the relentless efforts of the BJPs machinery, Rahul Gandhi has refused to bend, break or bow, choosing instead to place his faith in the judicial process.

Senior party leader Shashi Tharoor shared a video message on X, calling the verdict “a just step in what has been an unjust prosecution.” He said, “While we rejoice, we all call upon Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla ji to immediately reinstate Rahul Gandhi so that he can continue to serve the people of Wayanad in Kerala and the people of India and continue his sterling job of defending the idea of India.”

KC Venugopal, party’s General Secretary, speaking to news agency ANI, said, “The Speaker has to take a decision now. The entire country and world is now looking at the Speaker. Automatically, this should be revoked immediately. This is what we need, this is what the country needs. Our leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha will officially request the Speaker with a copy of the judgement.”

Party leader Pawan Khera too spoke to ANI, and said, “We are filled with energy. We had hoped for justice and justice has been done. Wait and watch, Rahul Gandhi will be the ‘baazigar’. Truth will triumph… People’s trust in judiciary has strengthened today.”

Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, following the verdict, expressed confidence in his party returning to power in the state. “Post-independence, Rahul Gandhi is the first person who got a full sentence of two years in a defamation case. Today, the Supreme Court rejected the verdict of the lower court. Everything is going in the right direction now… Congress will return to power in Rajasthan,” he told reporters of the news agency.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too reacted to the decision of the apex court. BJP’s Surat West MLA and the complainant in the case Purnesh Modi, welcoming the verdict, told reporters, “We will continue our legal battle in the court,” news agency ANI reported.

In March, a magisterial court in Surat had convicted and sentenced Gandhi to two years in prison, finding him guilty of criminal defamation following a complaint filed by Purnesh Modi, who objected to the Congress leader’s remarks in Karnataka’s Kolar in April 2019 – in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections – about “thieves with the Modi surname”.

Moreover, BJP leader Subrat Pathak, speaking to news agency PTI, said, “The Supreme Court has given some relief to Rahul Gandhi, however, he has not been acquitted yet.”

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