Several held as Oppn holds protest; Section 144 imposed

Heavy security has been deployed at Delhi's Vijay Chowk, ahead of the Congress march on Friday, against the Surat court's verdict against Rahul Gandhi. The Congress party will be carrying out the protest march against the court verdict that sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two-years-jail.

Besides the Congress, senior leaders of parties such as the DMK, National Conference, RSP, VCK, JDU, CPI(M), SP, SS, IUML, AAP and CPI attended the meeting at Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Kharge's office inside Parliament complex. The opposition parties have also sought time from President Draupadi Murmu on Friday afternoon to raise the matter with her.

Amid protests by opposition parties in Delhi, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge held a meeting with opposition leaders and deliberated on the strategy going forward in the wake of Rahul Gandhi's conviction in a 2019 defamation case.

In addition to a protest march in the national capital, Congress chiefs in other states may also undertake protest marches against the verdict and Rahul Gandhi's conviction.

A court in Surat in Gujarat sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years imprisonment in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his "Modi surname" remarks but was later granted bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to let him appeal the court's judgment.

The case was filed against Gandhi for his alleged "how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?" remarks on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.

The Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad made the remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Reacting to the judgment, complainant and Surat West Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Purnesh Modi said he welcomed the court's verdict.