New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he is fighting for the voice of India and he is ready to pay any price.


Taking to Twitter, Rahul Gandhi wrote, “I am fighting for the voice of India. I am ready to pay every price.”






His statement comes hours after he was disqualified from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a four-year old defamation case.


"Consequent upon his conviction by the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Surat in C.C./18712/2019, Shri Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency of Kerala stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 23 March, 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951," the notification by the Lok Sabha Secretariat reads.


Earlier on Thursday, a court in Surat sentenced the Congress leader to two years in jail in the defamation case filed against him over his "Modi surname" remarks. The court also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.


Meanwhile, the Congress reacted to the development saying that it will fight the battle "both legally and politically."


"We will not be intimidated or silenced. Instead of a JPC into the PM-linked Adani MahaMegaScam, @RahulGandhi stands disqualified. Indian Democracy Om Shanti," the party's General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh wrote on Twitter.


Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, Congress said the government is finding new ways to throttle Rahul Gandhi’s voice.


Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "We all know that Rahul Gandhi has been speaking out fearlessly both inside and outside the Parliament. Clearly, he is paying a price for it. The government is rattled."


"We are confident that we will get a stay of the conviction which will remove the very basis of this disqualification. We have full faith in the law. We believe we will emerge victorious in the near future," he added.