Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was convicted by a Surat court on Thursday in connection with a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his "Modi surname" remarks.

The Lok Sabha MP made the remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The remarks had been video graphed by the video surveillance team and video viewing team duly notified by the office of Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer, Kollar District.

While holding Gandhi guilty in the 2019 criminal defamation case over Modi surname remarks, the court sentenced him to two years in jail. The court later granted him bail.

On his plea, his sentence has been suspended, and bail has been granted to enable him to move an appeal against his conviction within 30 days.

BJP MLA and Purnesh Modi had filed the case against Rahul Gandhi for his alleged “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” remarks.

The case against Rahul Gandhi was filed before the Surat court under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 499 and 500 (dealing with defamation). The Gandhi scion recorded his statement before the court in October 2021.

Reacting to the court order against the top Congress leader, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said whenever Rahul Gandhi says something, he invites embarrassment to the nation and his party.

"The entire scared machinery of power is trying to suppress the voice of Rahul Gandhi through 'saam, daam, dand, bhed'. My brother has never been afraid, nor will he ever be. He has lived speaking the truth, will continue to speak the truth", tweeted Priyanka Gandhi.

Image courtesy: PTI