Rahul Gandhi, representing Kerala’s Wayanad parliamentary seat, was on Friday disqualified from the Lok Sabha in the wake of his conviction by a Surat court in a 2019 defamation case.
In a notification issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, it has been said that his disqualification order will be effective from March 23. The notification states that he (Rahul Gandhi) has been disqualified under Article 102(1) of the Constitution and Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act 1951.
It states that “Rahul Gandhi, representing the Wayanad parliamentary seat in Kerala, is disqualified from March 23, 2023, in view of his conviction in a defamation case by a court in Surat.” A court on Thursday sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years in prison in a criminal defamation case lodged against him in 2019 over his “Modi surname” remark.
The court, however, granted bail to Gandhi and stayed the execution of his sentence for 30 days, so that Congress leaders could challenge the verdict. Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification, the Congress party said it will fight the legal and political battle and will continue to demand setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the ‘Adani mega scam’ without remaining silent.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters that a meeting of senior leaders has been called at the Congress headquarters at 5 pm today to decide the strategy to take this fight forward. He also said that all this was done so that Rahul Gandhi could not raise questions in Parliament, but Rahul and the Congress would not remain silent in fear. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “We will fight this battle legally and politically. We will not bow down to threats and will not remain silent. Rahul Gandhi was disqualified instead of forming a JPC in the Adani scam involving the Prime Minister. Indian democracy Om Shanti.
On the other hand, Minister of State for Law and Justice SP Singh Baghel terming the decision as just, said that all are equal before the law. He said that recently a BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh was also disqualified after being convicted in a criminal case.
