The Congress will hold a day-long "maun satyagraha" (silent protest) in front of Mahatma Gandhi statues in all state headquarters on July 12 to express solidarity with Rahul Gandhi who it claimed has been "erroneously" convicted in a defamation case and disqualified from the Lok Sabha.

Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal wrote to all state unit chiefs of the party and key functionaries about the protest after the Gujarat High Court dismissed Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.

"The entire world has seen how Rahul Gandhi has consistently been questioning and exposing the relationship between Modi and Adani on various platforms. His courageous pursuit has forced the Prime Minister and the BJP to resort to crooked measures leading to his conviction and disqualification from the membership of Lok Sabha," Venugopal said in his communication.

In spite of all these hardships, Gandhi has been consistent in his fight against the "misuse of power" by Modi, and in fighting for the truth and raising the issues concerning the people of the country, he said.

Venugopal said not just the Congress but the entire nation has "condemned this erroneous conviction and disqualification, and resolved to stand by Rahul in this noble fight".

In the present circumstances, it is high time that we stand together and reiterate that Gandhi is not alone and that scores of Congress persons and crores of people irrespective of their political affiliations are with him in this fight for truth and justice, he said.

"Under the leadership of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, in solidarity with our leader and in support of his fearless and uncompromising fight, all the PCCs are requested to organise a massive one-day maun satyagraha (silent protest) in front of (Mahatma) Gandhi statues in all state headquarters from 10 AM to 5 PM, on Wednesday, on July 12, 2023, with maximum possible mobilisation and involvement of all the senior leaders, MPs, MLAs/MLCs, other elected representatives and supporters," he said.

While dismissing the Congress leader's plea, Justice Hemant Prachchhak noted that Gandhi was already facing 10 criminal cases across India, adding that the lower court was "just, proper and legal" in handing over a two-year jail term to Gandhi for his remarks.

A metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat on March 23 had sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in a 2019 case filed by BJP Gujarat MLA Purnesh Modi.

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