Meet Purnesh Modi, the man whose defamation complaint led to Rahul Gandhi’s two-year sentence

On Thursday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to prison for two years in a 2019 defamation case.Rahul was found guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 499 and 500 in a case filed against him over his ‘Modi surname’ remarks made while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.But what do we know about the man who filed the complaint against the Wayanad Lok Sabha MP?Let’s take a closer look:The plaint was lodged by 57-year-old Purnesh Modi, a BJP MLA and ex-Gujarat minister.According to his website, Purnesh was born on 22 October 1965 to Ishwarlal Chhotalal Modi and Hasumatiben Ishwarlal Modi.Purnesh has a B.Com degree as well as an LL.B.He is married to Binaben Modi.As per his website, he does not have any criminal records.

As per India Today, Purnesh lives with his family in Surat’s Adajan.

Purnesh is a trustee of the Surat Modhvanik Samast Panch, a member of the Sarvajanik Education society, and president of the Samast Gujarat Modh Modi Samaj trust, as per Indian Express.Association with BJPPurnesh, an advocate by profession, joined the BJP in 1984, as per Indian Express.After taking the political plunge, he worked as a booth-level convenor of the Wadi falia-Soni falia ward and then became a youth wing chief of the ward.In 1995, he was appointed to the BJP’s executive body committee of Surat city.Between 2000 and 2005, Purnesh served as municipal councillor as well as chairman of the Surat Municipal Corporation’s Standing Committee.Purnesh was the BJP election in-charge in Dang Assembly seat and Billimora Nagar Palika polls and oversaw the BJP in South Gujarat from 2007 to 2009.In 2010, Purnesh was appointed Surat city BJP chief – a position he held till 2016.Purnesh in 2013, when Modi was Gujarat chief minister, won the Gujarat West seat.He trounced his Congress rival D L Patel by more than 66,000 votes."Congratulations to Purnesh Modi and BJP karyakartas for grand victory in Surat West by-election. Thanks to voters of Surat," Modi tweeted.Purnesh contested and won as the BJP candidate from Surat during the 2017 Assembly polls.

Purnesh in 2019 filed the complaint against Rahul.

As per The Print, Purnesh in his complaint accused Rahul of defaming the entire Modi community.Purnesh said there were CDs and a pen drive of Rahul Gandhi’s speech to prove that the Congress leader had made that “defamatory” comment.In December 2022, Purnesh defeated Congress’ Sanjay R Shah in Surat East constituency in the Gujarat elections. But that didn’t stop him from being dropped – among a slew of big names –  from the Bhupendra Patel cabinet.Rahul granted bailRahul, who was present in the court during the verdict, was immediately granted bail.The judge suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court, the Congress leader's lawyer Babu Mangukiya said.[caption id="attachment_12340232" align="alignnone" width="640"]

Rahul Gandhi has been convicted in a 2019 defamation case over remarks on Modi surname. AP File Photo[/caption]Shortly after the sentence, Rahul Gandhi tweeted a quote by Mahatma Gandhi. “Mera dharam satya hai aur ahimsa par adharit hai. Satya mera bhagwan hai, ahimsa ussey paaney ka sadhan” (My “religion” is based on “truth and non-violence”).Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday alleged that the BJP-led government wants to get Rahul removed from Lok Sabha through disqualification as he speaks the truth and exposes it.However, the BJP responded by saying that the law has to take its course if Rahul abuses people.The party also slammed the Congress over its criticism of his conviction in a defamation case, asking whether the Opposition party wants “complete freedom” for him to “abuse” others.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.