India’s Rahul Gandhi appeals against defamation verdict

Opposition leader was found guilty last month, given suspended jail term and barred from parliament

The Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has appealed against his conviction for defamation, seeking to overturn a judgment that resulted in his expulsion from parliament a year before a general election is due.

Gandhi, 52, was convicted last month in a case brought by a state lawmaker from Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) after comments Gandhi made in a 2019 speech were deemed to be insulting to the prime minister and other people surnamed Modi.