NEW DELHI: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday has been disqualified by the lower house of the parliament as an MP on grounds of being convicted in the 2019 criminal defamation case. The Wayanad MP has been pronounced a 2-year jail term by the Surat court on Thursday over his remarks ” why all thieves have Modi surname” during a campaign.
“Consequent upon his conviction by the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Surat in C.C./ 18712/2019, Shri Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency of Kerala stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 23 March, 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951,” the Lok Sabha notice read.
The Congress party slammed the decision by the Lok Sabha calling it outrageous. It mentioned- “the Court judgement will be overtruned”. Pan India agitations continued against the conviction of senior party leader. Congress raised the issue in Parliament, leading to a ruckus in both Houses. Party chief Kharge has been holding meetings to chalk out strategies to fight the Surat court order.
In the evening today, all the state Congress Presidents and legislative party leaders have been called for a meeting to chalk out plans for nationwide protests.
On Thursday morning, Rahul Gandhi was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname. The Congress leader, however, was granted bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to allow him to appeal the Surat court verdict.