Congress Leader Jairam Ramesh reacted on Thursday to the dismissal of Rahul Gandhi’s application in the 2019 criminal libel case by the Surat Court, saying we will continue to pursue all options.

“We will continue to take advantage of all options still available to us under the law. @DrAMSinghvi will brief the media on Rahul Gandhi’s appeal at 4pm,” Jairam Ramesh tweeted.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Malviya lashed out at Rahul Gandhi, saying: “Surat Court rejects Rahul Gandhi’s request seeking a stay of his sentence in 2019 defamation case over the ‘remark’ last name Modi'”.

“Despite insulting the OBC community, calling them all ‘chor’, Rahul shamefully remains defiant… His arrogant attitude reeks of entitlement,” he tweeted.

A Surat court on Thursday dismissed the application filed by Rahul Gandhi in which the Congress leader had sought a stay of his sentence in the 2019 criminal libel case over the ‘Modi surname’ comment.

The former Wayanad MP will now have to appeal in the Gujarat High Court or the Supreme Court against the Surat court order.

Earlier, on April 3, the Surat Sessions Court granted bail to the Congress leader, who had filed an appeal following his conviction in the case.

While granting bail to the former MP, the court also sent notices to whistleblower Purnesh Modi and the state government about the Congress leader’s request to suspend his sentence. He listened to both sides and then booked the order for April 20.

Rahul Gandhi was a Wayanad Lok Sabha MP but was disqualified after a lower court in Surat sentenced him to two years in prison on March 23 under sections 499 and 500 (libel) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in a case brought by Bharatiya. Janata Party (BJP) MLA Purnesh Modi.

The case concerned a comment Rahul Gandhi made using the surname ‘Modi’ while addressing a campaign event ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

At a rally in Karnataka’s Kolar in April 2019, Rahul, in a hint to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, “How come all thieves have Modi as a common surname?”

Following his conviction, Rahul was disqualified as an MP on March 24, according to a 2013 Supreme Court ruling. According to the ruling, any MP or MLA is automatically disqualified if convicted and sentenced to two years or more.