Bhopal, July 12 (PTI) Senior Congress leaders, MLAs, and party workers in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday staged a "silent" protest here in support of Rahul Gandhi after Gujarat High Court refused to stay his conviction in a defamation case.

The "democracy disqualified" agitation held at the MP Congress headquarters was led by state unit chief Kamal Nath.

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The Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPC) said in a statement that Rahul Gandhi exposed the BJP government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by speaking against their "anti-public policies and the relations between the PM and industrialist Gautam Adani".

"Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha membership through a devious step by the BJP, but he is always ahead in fighting his battle with truth and courage against the misuse of power and raising the issues of the people," the MPCC said.

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The Congress said the party and common people are standing with Rahul Gandhi in the "fight for truth and justice".

Former Union minister Arun Yadav, Congress MLAs, and senior party leaders participated in the "maun satyagrah" protest.

A metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat in March convicted Rahul Gandhi of criminal defamation over his "Modi surname" remark and sentenced him to two years in jail.

He was subsequently disqualified as a Lok Sabha member.

Observing that "purity in politics" is the need of the hour, the Gujarat High Court on Friday dismissed Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in the case.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)