AN INDIAN court has dismissed opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s plea to stay his conviction in a criminal defamation case that resulted in his expulsion from parliament, the Press Trust of India reported today.

Mr Gandhi, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his main challenger in the 2024 polls, was ousted after a court last month sentenced him to two years in prison for defamation for mocking Mr Modi’s surname in a 2019 election speech.

A court in Mr Modi’s home state of Gujarat suspended the prison sentence earlier in April for the duration of the appeal process.

A man who shares the prime minister’s surname, but is not related, accused Mr Gandhi of defamation over the speech in which he asked: “Why do all thieves have Modi as their surname?”

Gandhi then referred to three well-known and unrelated Modis in the speech: a fugitive Indian diamond tycoon, a cricket executive banned from the Indian Premier League and the Prime Minister.

A stay of Mr Gandhi’s conviction would have opened up a path to reinstate his parliamentary seat. But the Indian National Congress Party leader still has opportunities to appeal.

“We will continue to avail all options still available to us under the law,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh tweeted.