An Indian court today found opposition leader Rahul Gandhi guilty of defamation and sentenced him to two years in prison for a speech he gave in 2019 in which he called Prime Minister Modi a "thief". Gandhi, a senior Congress leader and scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, will appeal the verdict in a higher court, his party said.

The verdict was handed down by a court in the city of Surat, which is located in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Federal government counsel Kanchan Gupta said Gandhi, a member of the Lower House of Parliament, could face immediate disqualification as a member of parliament following the verdict.

"Court finds Rahul Gandhi's comment defamatory. He has been sentenced to two years in prison," said Ketan Reshamwala, a lawyer for plaintiff Purnesh Modi, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Gandhi was present before the court in Surat and was immediately granted bail and his sentence was suspended for one month.

In a speech ahead of the last general election in 2019, Gandhi attacked the prime minister and two fugitive Indian businessmen, both surnamed Modi, while talking about alleged high-level corruption in the country. Gandhi told the court on Thursday that his comment was not against any community.

His party said the case against him was filed by the "cowardly and dictatorial" BJP government for "exposing their dark deeds".

Gandhi's once-dominant Congress today controls less than 10 percent of the seats in the lower house of parliament and has suffered heavy defeats by the BJP in the last two general elections. Modi remains India's most popular politician and is expected to win a third term in the next general election in 2024.