Rahul Gandhi, India’s top opposition leader, was denied a stay of execution Friday when a judge refused to suspend his jail sentence for slander.
Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison for remarks he made in 2019 that were deemed offensive to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and individuals with the same surname.
The Modi administration is regularly accused of utilizing the defamation legislation to stifle critics.
The case in the premier’s home state of Gujarat is one of dozens filed against Gandhi in recent years, who is Modi’s main opponent and the leader of the opposition Congress party.
A judge of the Gujarat High Court said the original verdict was “just and legal” and refused to put a stay on Gandhi’s conviction.
“It is now the need of the hour to have purity in politics. A representative of people should be a man of clear character,” the judge said Friday.
A lower Gujarat court had already denied Gandhi a stay of execution in April, a month after his original conviction and subsequent removal from parliament.
As it stands, Gandhi is ineligible to run in next year’s election, causing fans to denounce him.
“No force can silence him, the truth will triumph and justice will ultimately prevail,” opposition lawmaker K.C. Venugopal wrote on Twitter after the verdict.
Critics highlight that 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 was subject to renewed scrutiny this year after a US investment firm accused it of “brazen” corporate fraud, which it denies.
