New Delhi, Aug 4 (IANS):  After the Supreme Court stay on his conviction in the 'Modi surname' defamation case,  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that his duty remains to protect the idea of India.

In a tweet, Rahul Gandhi said, "Come what may, my duty remains the same. Protect the idea of India."

The Supreme Court gave him a big relief and stayed his conviction, which cost him his Lok Sabha membership. The court said that no reasons were given by the trial judge for imposing the maximum punishment of two years in the case.

Party leader and noted lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, senior advocates Rajinder Cheema, Harin Raval, and advocates Tarannum Cheema, and Prasanna Advocates appeared for Rahul Gandhi in the court.

He was disqualified as an MP in March this year, after a Surat court convicted him and sentenced him to two years in prison for his "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname" remark made during an election rally in Karnataka in April 2019. Gandhi's remark was interpreted as an attempt to draw an implicit connection between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and fugitive businessmen Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.

In March, the sessions court in Surat had dismissed Gandhi's plea seeking suspension of his conviction by the magistrate court, stating that his disqualification will not result in an irreversible loss to him. The Congress leader was disqualified under a rule that bars convicted MPs from holding the Lok Sabha membership.