The Congress has called for a meeting of all Opposition MPs at 10 am on Friday to discuss party leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in a criminal defamation case.

On Thursday, a magistrate in Gujarat’s Surat sentenced the Wayanad MP to two years’ imprisonment for his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname. The court, however, granted him bail and suspended his sentence for 30 days in order to allow him to appeal against the verdict.

At a rally in Karnataka’s Kolar ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi was said to have asked: “Why all the thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi, have Modi in their names?”

Nirav Modi is a fugitive businessman accused in the Punjab National Bank scam while Lalit Modi is former Indian Premier League chief who has been banned for life by the cricket governing body.

Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Verma said in his order that statements of MPs have a “very wide impact on the public”, PTI reported.

The judge said the Supreme Court had in the past asked Gandhi to be careful about the statements that he makes after he apologised in a 2018 case for his “chowkidar chor hai” remarks. “Despite the Supreme Court alerting the accused, there appears to be no change in his conduct,” the order added.

Congress General Secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh on Thursday evening told reporters that the judgement was an example of the Modi government’s “politics of vendetta, threat and intimidation”.

He said that the party will fight against the criminal case legally as well as politically. “Today, over 50 MPs, members of the Congress steering committee and senior leaders held a meeting,” he added. “Tomorrow, a meeting of Opposition MPs will be held at 10 am. The Opposition will march to [Delhi’s] Vijay Chowk at 12 pm.”

The Congress has sought time to meet President Droupadi Murmu on Friday afternoon in order to raise the matter with her. The party will also hold protests in Delhi and other states on March 27 against the conviction order.

The court passed the verdict in response to a defamation case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Purnesh Modi.

He alleged that the Congress leader had defamed the Modi community with his remarks. Gandhi, however, has claimed that he made the remarks in a sarcastic vein and did not mean to target any particular community.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the BJP government wants to get Gandhi ousted from Lok Sabha through such means.

According to the Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a person sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and remain disqualified for another six years after serving time.

PDT Achary, former secretary general of the Lok Sabha, told PTI that the disqualification will be suspended if an appellate court stays the conviction and the sentence.

Kharge on Thursday said that fugitives such as Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, who have fled the country with hundred of thousands of crores of rupees, are not being punished but action is being taken against Gandhi.

“By shutting one person up, can you shut up 140 crore people?” he asked. “We will keep fighting, don’t think that by two years punishment, the Congress is finished, we will keep fighting. The Congress is alive and will remain so.”

Apart from the Congress, several other Opposition leaders have also criticised the conviction and the two-year sentence.

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal said that while his party has differences with the Congress, it was not correct to embroil Gandhi in a defamation case. “There is a conspiracy to finish off non-BJP leaders parties by filing cases against them,” he said.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren accused the BJP of targeting the Opposition. “It is difficult to comprehend whether we are in Amritkaal [75 years of independence as being observed by the Centre] or Apatkaal [state of emergency],” he said. “The country is passing through a strange period.”

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav remarked that BJP leaders should face cases “for the defamation of the country, the people, social harmony, the Constitution and the economy”.