The Indian Youth Congress on Thursday held a symbolic protest near Shastri Bhawan here against the verdict of a Surat court sentencing Rahul Gandhi to two years of jail in a defamation case.

The demonstration was in solidarity with Rahul Gandhi, said general secretary in-charge Delhi, Coco Padhi.

Many activists of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) proceeded towards Shastri Bhawan from the Youth Congress office and organised 'Satyagraha' in a peaceful manner. The protesters were carrying placards and raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of police personnel. IYC national president Srinivas B V said every worker of the Youth Congress is standing shoulder to shoulder with Gandhi in this "battle of truth".

"Inciting riots in the Modi system is not a crime, abusing women is not a crime, but speaking against corruption, unemployment, inflation, hatred, and raising voice against the prime minister's friends is the biggest crime, but in the end, the dictator will be defeated. Rahul Gandhi is a soldier of truth and he has not apologised for telling the truth but has chosen punishment," Srinivas said.

A court in Surat in Gujarat on Thursday sentenced the Gandhi scion to two years in jail in the 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his “why all thieves have Modi surname” remarks.

Gandhi, who was present in the court when the verdict was pronounced, reacted later by quoting Mahatma Gandhi in a tweet in Hindi about truth and non-violence.

The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate H H Varma, which held Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 499 and 500, also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court, the Congress leader's lawyer Babu Mangukiya said.

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