Rahul Gandhi, an opposition leader in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of India’s parliament), was disqualified from office last Thursday after being convicted of defamation. He was sentenced to two years in prison over remarks he made in 2019 that disparaged people with the surname “Modi.” Of course, the most prominent person in India with that surname is the prime minister, Narendra Modi.
Prime Minister Modi did not file the case against Gandhi, but rather Purnesh Modi, a state legislator from Gujarat, the prime minister’s home state. At a campaign rally in 2019, Gandhi said, “Why do all thieves have Modi in their names, whether it is Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, or Narendra Modi? We don’t know how many more such Modis will come out.”
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