Patna: A week after Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to two years in jail, the Congress leader has been asked to appear before a court here on April 12 for a defamation suit.
The Patna court has summoned Gandhi to record his statement on a petition filed by BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi.
Rahul Gandhi had been sentenced to two years in jail last week by the Surat court over his remarks on the Modi surname, following which he was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha.
Plea challenging Surat conviction soon
The Congress expressed solidarity with Gandhi on Wednesday and accused the Centre of acting in haste as part of a conspiracy to disqualify him from the Lok Sabha after his conviction in a 2019 defamation case, which he is likely to challenge very soon.
Sources said a petition challenging Gandhi's conviction and sentencing by a trial court in Gujarat's Surat is ready.
The top legal advisors of the Congress are giving finishing touches to the review petition, which will be filed before the Surat sessions court "very shortly", they added.
Several Congress leaders held press meets across the country in Gandhi's support and highlighted how he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha within a day of his conviction in a "false" case.
Congress leaders and supporters posted their pictures on social media, offering their houses to Gandhi since the Lok Sabha Secretariat has sent him an eviction notice for his 12, Tughlak Lane official bungalow in Delhi after his conviction.
(With PTI inputs.)