NEW DELHI – The Indian parliament has disqualified opposition leader RahulGandhi after his conviction in a defamation case. A court had sentencedGandhi to two years in prison this week.
A notice issued by the parliament on Friday read, “Rahul Gandhi… standsdisqualified from the member of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction.”
The conviction was the result of a speech Gandhi delivered before 2019general elections, saying all thieves in India have the surname Modi.
Congress officials said that Gandhi would move the higher court against theparliament’s decision. The opposition party also staged protests indifferent parts of the country against the conviction and jail sentence.
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Congress officials have termed the court order “politically motivated” andaccused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) of zeroing in on political opponents.The Law
As per The Representation of the People Act, 1951, any politician found“convicted of any offense and sentenced to imprisonment for not less thantwo years” shall stand disqualified. It also bars a convicted lawmaker fromcontending in elections for six years after completion of jail sentence.
