Rahul Gandhi, stripped of MP seat, changes Twitter bio

The Congress leader was disqualified from India's parliament after receiving a two-year jail sentence in a defamation case

Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi has changed his Twitter bio, which now reads "Dis'Qualified MP", after the country's parliament disqualified him as a lawmaker following his conviction in a defamation case.

Gandhi, who received a two-year jail sentence in the case, replaced the term 'Member of Parliament' from his official account two days after he was stripped of his seat.

Meanwhile, Congress launched nationwide protests on Sunday over the loss of his parliamentary seat.

Gandhi was given bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days.

The criminal defamation case was filed against the 52-year-old by a BJP leader in connection with a 2019 speech in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi.

Many Indians were outraged by the comments, which were deemed insulting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress leader is yet to challenge the decision in a higher court.

His Wayanad seat in Kerala is now vacant following his removal from office. He was elected from Wayanad in 2019 but lost the election in Amethi, his seat since 2004, according to broadcaster NDTV .

Gandhi, one of India’s main opposition leaders, will go up against Narendra Modi when he seeks his third term as prime minister in 2024.

The once-dominant Congress controls less than 10 percent of the seats in parliament's lower house and has lost badly to the BJP in two successive general elections, most recently in 2019.

Modi remains India's most popular politician by a substantial margin and is widely expected to win a third victory at the next general election in 2024.