New Delhi | As Rahul Gandhi's conviction triggered a political slugfest, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday took a fresh dig at him saying one cannot blame all Gandhi surnames just because the Congress leader "insulted" Indian democracy, its armed forces and country's institutions.

Rahul Gandhi's conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case by a Surat court has been slammed by opposition parties, including the AAP, which rallied behind the former Congress chief and accused the ruling party of "hatching a conspiracy to eliminate" its political opponents by prosecuting them.

"We can't blame all Gandhi surnames just because Rahul Gandhi insulted Indian democracy, our Armed forces & India's Institutions.Rahul Gandhi made very derogatory remark and disgraced an entire OBC Community. Shockingly, some Congress leaders are trying to defend it," Rijiju said in a tweet.

On Thursday, Rijiju had said that Gandhi's remarks have caused harm to the Congress whose leaders were worried that the party's fortunes were sinking.

Gandhi was sentenced to two years in jail by the Surat court in the 2019 criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark, in a setback to the Lok Sabha MP who faces the risk of disqualification