Mallikarjun Kharge said Rahul Gandhi had always fought for the truth and will do so in future too. (File)
The Congress on Friday said they will approach the Supreme Court shortly after the Gujarat High Court today upheld a sessions court order denying stay on the conviction of former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case over 'Modi surname' remark.
"We will fight both the political battle and the legal battle," Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge tweeted. He said that Rahul Gandhi had always fought for the truth and will do so in future too.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh stated that the Gujarat High Court's ruling in the defamation case was being studied and the "judgment only redoubles our resolve to pursue the matter further."
"We have noted the verdict of the single-judge bench of the Gujarat High Court on the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi. The reasoning of the judge is being studied, as it should be, and Abhishek Singhvi will be briefing the media in detail at 3 pm. The judgement only redoubles our resolve to pursue the matter further," Jairam Ramesh tweeted.
The Gujarat High Court's decision implies that Rahul Gandhi will not be able to contest elections or seek revocation of the suspension of his status as a Member of Parliament.
After the High Court announced its verdict, Congress workers raised slogans and protested at the party headquarters in the national capital. In Rajasthan, Congress workers sporting black bands carried out a protest march in Jaipur. Congress has asked all the PCCs to take out protests.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader DK Shivakumar termed the verdict a "murder of democracy".
"It is very unfortunate that justice has not prevailed. It is murder of democracy but still, the entire country and the Opposition parties stand by him (Rahul Gandhi). He is a great leader who is fighting across the country to unite it. BJP leaders are not able to tolerate this. They want to block him from Parliament. I feel he will grow stronger," tweeted Mr Shivakumar.
Speaking to reporters in Ahmedabad, Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil said that the decision regarding the defamation case against Rahul Gandhi was between 80 and 90 pages long and Congressman Abhishek Manu Singhvi would provide the AICC's official response to the ruling today after reviewing the entire ruling.
"We are sure that the matter will go to Supreme Court," said Mr Gohil.
He said that there was no hard proof in the defamation complaint against Rahul Gandhi on the 'Modi surname' remark.
"Rahul Gandhi spoke against Lalit Modi-Nirav Modi who looted the country and fled. He said this in Karnataka. Surat court had no jurisdiction. The procedure was not followed. There is nothing concrete in Rahul Gandhi's case. We are absolutely sure that we will get justice," Mr Gohil said.
Gujarat High Court on Friday upheld the sessions court order and denied a stay on Mr Gandhi's conviction in the defamation case.
The High Court had in May reserved its order on Mr Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in the 2019 'Modi surname' defamation case. The court had then refused to grant any interim relief to Rahul Gandhi.
Mr Gandhi moved the high court on April 25 challenging the Surat sessions court order declining a stay on his conviction.
Following his conviction in the defamation case, Mr Gandhi was disqualified as Lok Sabha MP. He was also sentenced to two years in jail on March 23.
At a rally in Karnataka's Kolar in April 2019, Mr Gandhi, in a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had said, "How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?"
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)