Rahul Gandhi’s Press Meet Today, His First Since Disqualification

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will this afternoon hold his first press conference after being disqualified from the Lok Sabha. The presser is scheduled at 1 pm.

Mr Gandhi lost his MP status after a Gujarat court found him guilty in a criminal defamation case and sentenced him to two years in jail on Thursday.

In his first comments after disqualification, the former Wayanad MP said he is ready to “pay any price”. “I am fighting for the voice of India. I am ready to pay any price,” Mr Gandhi tweeted in Hindi yesterday.

The former Congress chief’s Wayanad seat also fell vacant after his disqualification.

Mr Gandhi was on Thursday found guilty of defamation for a 2019 campaign trail remark implying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a criminal. “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname”, he had allegedly remarked in Karnataka’s Kolar, after which several complaints were lodged against him in various states.

The Surat court that convicted Mr Gandhi also granted him bail for 30 days to let him appeal the decision.

“My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God, non-violence the means to get it,” he had tweeted quoting Mahatma Gandhi, in his first comment after the verdict.