Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar along with a host of ministers, legislators and Congress top leaders in the state on Wednesday staged a "silent protest" here against the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Parliament and the "politics of vendetta" unleashed by the Centre.

This comes days after the party stated it would move the Supreme Court after the Gujarat High Court refused to stay Gandhi's conviction in a 2019 defamation case over his "Modi surname remarks.

The protestors tied a black ribbon on their mouth to symbolically convey that the freedom of speech was in danger and anyone speaking against the Central government would face backlash.

Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and others held placards at the Freedom Park here with the photograph of Rahul Gandhi and a message that the "roar of the truth must prevail".

Alleging that the BJP deployed "dirty tricks" to disqualify Rahul Gandhi from Parliament, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) had on July 9 announced that as a mark of protest, its workers and leaders will hold a 'maun satyagraha' (silent protest) in every state capital today.

Party leaders and workers in Kerala express solidarity

Several Congress leaders and party workers observed 'maun satyagraha' (silent protest) in the state capital on Wednesday to express solidarity with Rahul Gandhi, who, according to them, was "erroneously" convicted in a defamation case and disqualified from Lok Sabha.

An array of senior leaders including MLAs, MPs and former ministers gathered in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Gandhi Park, located in the heart of the capital city, to take part in the protest that would continue till the evening.

Kerala PCC chief K Sudhakaran, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan, MPs including Kodikunnil Suresh, Rajmohan Unnithan and K Muraleedharan and presidents of various District Congress Committees and so on were among those who took part in the silent protest.

Before the beginning of the 'maun satyagraha', Suresh, who is also the working president of the KPCC, alleged that the Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP were trying to keep Gandhi away from Parliament.

"The Modi government is trying to insult Rahul Gandhi and keep him away from the Parliament. But the Congress workers in the country will unitedly rally behind him to check all such moves," he said.

A large number of party workers also arrived from various districts to take part in the protest.

Gandhi represented Kerala's Wayanad constituency in the Lok Sabha before his disqualification as MP.

Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal recently 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 had said in his communication.

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