NEW DELHI -- Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay of conviction in a criminal defamation case was denied on Friday, dimming his hopes of rejoining parliament and running in next year's general election.
The high court in the western state of Gujarat rejected the appeal -- the second such denial Gandhi has suffered since March, when the 53-year-old scion of the Indian National Congress party was given a two-year prison sentence by a metropolitan magistrate court in Surat, in the same state. The conviction was over public remarks Gandhi made in 2019, when he asked why "all thieves have Modi as a common surname."
.JPG?width=178&fit=cover&gravity=faces&dpr=2&quality=medium&source=nar-cms&format=auto&height=100)
