Rahul conviction: Cong calls meeting of senior leaders

The Congress party has called a meeting of its steering committee members, senior leaders, state chiefs, and legislative party leaders on Friday, March 24, to devise a strategy after Rahul Gandhi's conviction by a Surat court. Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, has also called a meeting of the opposition parties on Friday, following which the MPs will march to Vijay Chowk. On the same evening, all the state Congress presidents and legislative party leaders will meet to chalk out plans for nationwide protests. According to sources, the Congress leadership has also sought time to meet President Droupadi Murmu on this issue.

The party has planned mega protests in the coming days, taking like-minded parties along.  The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Congress MPs and steering committee members held at Kharge's residence on Thursday evening. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "This is not just a legal issue, but political as well, since the ruling party wants to intimidate Opposition leaders."

On Thursday morning, Rahul Gandhi was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surname. The Congress leader, however, was granted bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to allow him to appeal the Surat court verdict.