Surat/IBNS: A court in Gujarat's Surat on Thursday rejected Congress top leader Rahul Gandhi's appeal to put a stay on his conviction in the defamation case over his remark tagging the surname "Modi", media reports said.

Rahul will continue to remain disqualified as the MP.

He was disqualified from Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, after a lower court in Surat sentenced him to a two-year imprisonment over the remark.

Presently, he is on bail.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha poll campaign, Rahul had said, "How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname."

A complaint, which was lodged by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Purnesh Modi, had claimed Rahul had defamed the entire Modi community.

Following the disqualification, Rahul, who was an MP from Kerala's Wayanad, was also asked to vacate the government bungalow.