New Delhi | Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi attended Lok Sabha proceedings on Friday, a day after he was convicted in a 2019 criminal defamation case by a Surat court.

Rahul Gandhi attended a meeting of party MPs before the start of the House proceedings. Congress Parliamentary Party Chief Sonia Gandhi was also present during the meeting.

The House was adjourned seconds after convening amid ruckus over various issues, and Rahul Gandhi left Parliament soon after that.

The court in Gujarat sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in the case, filed on a complaint by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi for his alleged remark, "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma, which held 52-year-old Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500, also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.

Gandhi can escape immediate disqualification as a member of parliament if the appellate court suspends the conviction as well as the two-year jail term.