Rahul Gandhi cited a quote from Mahatma Gandhi after a Surat court pronounced him guilty in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname. 

Mr Gandhi was sentenced to two years imprisonment but was later granted bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to let him appeal the court’s judgment.

“My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God, non-violence the means to get it,” Mr Gandhi wrote on Twitter. 

मेरा धर्म सत्य और अहिंसा पर आधारित है। सत्य मेरा भगवान है, अहिंसा उसे पाने का साधन।

– महात्मा गांधी

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 23, 2023

BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi had filed the defamation case against Mr Gandhi for saying, “How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?”

Mr Gandhi made those remarks during a rally at Karnataka’s Kolar ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. 

The Congress leader was present in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma during the verdict.