Modi Surname Case: Supreme Court stays conviction of Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi/ Hyderabad: The Congress on Friday hailed the Supreme Court ruling staying the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in a 2019 defamation case, calling the judgment a strong vindication of truth and asserting that "no force can silence the voice of the people".

The Congress described it as a "victory of love over hate".

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted, "'Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth ~Gautama Buddha'." She wrote on her wall, "Satyameva Jayate".

Modi surname remark

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the conviction of Gandhi in the defamation case over his Modi surname remark.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said 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," he said on Twitter.

"Let this be a lesson to the BJP and its acolytes: you can do your absolute worst but we will not back down. We will continue to expose and call out your failures as a Government and as a party. We will continue to uphold our Constitutional ideals and repose faith in our institutions which you so desperately want to destroy. Satyameva Jayate!" Ramesh said.

Congress' general secretary organisation K C Venugopal also hailed the verdict.

"We welcome the Hon'ble Supreme Court's verdict staying Sh. @RahulGandhi ji's conviction. Justice has prevailed. No force can silence the voice of the people," Venugopal said on Twitter.

In a tweet in Hindi, the Congress said, "It is a victory of love over hate. Satyamev Jayate -- Jai Hind

Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala also hailed the ruling, saying justice has prevailed.

"The roar of truth will be heard again in the halls of democracy!" he said.

Telangana leaders hail the judgement

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Revanth Reddy and member of Parliament says, " The conspiracies of BJP government have failed. People have faith in the judicial system and it has prevailed."

G Niranjan, TPCC Senior Vice President says, " We welcome the stay granted by the Supreme Court today on the sentence imposed on Rahul Gandhi by the Gujarat High Court. In this case, Rahul Gandhi will be acquitted and the membership of Parliament will be restored. "

Rahul Gandhi case

A three-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, P S Narasimha and Sanjay Kumar said there is no doubt that the utterances were not in good taste and that a person in public life is expected to exercise caution while making public speeches.

"No reason has been given by the trial judge for imposing maximum sentence, the order of conviction needs to be stayed pending final adjudication," the bench said.

The top court was hearing a plea by Gandhi challenging the Gujarat High Court verdict which dismissed his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.

Former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi had filed a criminal defamation case in 2019 against Gandhi over his "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" remark made during an election rally in Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019.

Inputs from PTI