Priyanka Gandhi praised Rahul Gandhi's courage after his acquittal in the defamation case. She said the ruling showed that truth would ultimately prevail over political attacks.
Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. (Photo: PTI)
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday backed her brother Rahul Gandhi a day after he was acquitted in a defamation case linked to his 2018 remarks against then BJP president Amit Shah, saying it takes immense courage, tenacity and perseverance to stand against an “onslaught of lies”.
Responding to Rahul Gandhi's post on X, where he wrote “Satyam Shivam Sundaram”, Priyanka Gandhi said the truth could never be suppressed for long. The Sanskrit phrase translates to “truth, goodness or auspiciousness, and beauty”.
In a post on X, Priyanka Gandhi alleged that the government had spent unprecedented resources on a campaign to malign her brother and defame him by filing what she described as bogus cases against him for speaking the truth fearlessly.
“This government has spent unprecedented resources on a filthy campaign to malign my brother, to defame him and slap bogus cases on him simply for fearlessly telling the truth. It takes immense courage, tenacity and the perseverance of a true warrior to stand against an onslaught of lies, the way he has,” she said.
Predicting that the truth would eventually emerge, the Congress leader added that the acquittal was only the beginning.
“One by one the chips will fall. The truth will emerge clear and strong. This is just the beginning,” Priyanka Gandhi said.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP from Raebareli, was acquitted by a special MP-MLA court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday in a defamation case related to his remarks against Amit Shah in 2018.
Gandhi appeared before the court for the pronouncement of the verdict. Plaintiff Vijay Mishra's lawyer, Santosh Pandey, confirmed that the court had acquitted the Congress leader.
The case was being heard by Special Judge for MP-MLA cases Shubham Verma.
Following the verdict, Pandey said the court had accepted a compact disc (CD) he had submitted as evidence. However, he said he would study the court's order before deciding on the next course of action in consultation with his client.
“The court held that the statement was not defamatory and that my client, Vijay Mishra ji, is not the aggrieved person. So, I respect the court's order. I will take copy of it and study it and file it in appellate court after consulting my client,” Pandey told PTI Videos.
Mishra said Rahul Gandhi had been acquitted due to insufficient evidence and that he would consider an appeal after examining the order and consulting his legal counsel.
“Gandhi has been acquitted in light of insufficient evidence. We will take the order copy, study it and then proceed for appeal in court according to the counsel we get,” Mishra said.
A lawyer from the Congress's legal team, who was present in Sultanpur, said the party had been confident of a favourable verdict, arguing that the case was filed for reasons other than its merits.
“We were convinced that the case was filed less on merit and more due to extraneous considerations. That is why we were convinced the case would be decided in our favour,” the lawyer told PTI.
Following the acquittal, the Congress on Monday attacked the BJP, alleging that it was a party “run by criminals”, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
The opposition party also vowed to continue its political fight against the BJP along Gandhian lines, saying it would seek to defeat the ruling party through love, compassion and perseverance.
Priyanka Gandhi's remarks on Tuesday followed the party's response to the verdict, with the Congress leader portraying her brother's acquittal as a moment that reinforced the importance of perseverance in the face of what she described as a campaign of falsehoods.
Congress workers celebrated Rahul Gandhi's acquittal outside the court complex in Sultanpur. They beat drums, distributed sweets and raised the slogan “Satyamev Jayate”, meaning “truth alone triumphs”, as Gandhi emerged from the premises.
How the defamation case began
The case stemmed from remarks Rahul Gandhi made against Amit Shah at a rally in Bengaluru ahead of the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections, when Shah was the BJP president.
Vijay Mishra, a local BJP politician and former chairman of the District Cooperative Bank in Sultanpur, filed the defamation complaint against Gandhi on August 4, 2018.
Rahul Gandhi appeared before the court in 2023 and secured bail. The court had initially fixed October 13 for pronouncing its verdict before subsequently rescheduling it to October 26.
Gandhi arrived at Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport on Monday morning ahead of the court proceedings. Hundreds of Congress workers and local party leaders had gathered at the airport to welcome the Raebareli MP.
While his convoy was travelling from Lucknow to Sultanpur on the Purvanchal Expressway, several vehicles following it were involved in a collision.
A police official said around six vehicles linked to Congress workers from Amethi were involved in the incident. No one suffered serious injuries, the official said.
Security arrangements were strengthened in Sultanpur, particularly around the court complex, in view of the proceedings, police officials said.
The acquittal marks the latest development in the defamation case, with the complainant's side indicating that it would examine the court's order before deciding whether to challenge the verdict in an appellate court.
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