Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha following his conviction in a defamation case by a Surat court. The court had sentenced him to two years in prison, but he was granted bail for 30 days to appeal the verdict in a higher court.
The Lok Sabha secretariat has issued a notification stating that Gandhi’s disqualification is in accordance with Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act. The Congress leader briefly attended the Budget session on Friday before the Lok Sabha was adjourned for an hour and later resumed for the day.
Gandhi was convicted over a remark he made during the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign in Karnataka, where he questioned how all those with Modi surnames were thieves. As per the next steps, Gandhi will have to appeal to a higher court seeking a stay on the conviction to prevent his disqualification. The Congress has stated that it will follow the necessary procedures to move a higher court.
Congress stunned after Ra-Ga’s disqualification:
The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as a Member of Parliament has sparked outrage among Congress party leaders, who have taken to social media and spoken to the media to express their anger over the incident.
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Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge called for a meeting at the party headquarters to discuss the issue, where he stated that the opposition will continue to demand a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani-Hindenburg case. Kharge also alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had tried to disqualify Rahul Gandhi by any means possible.
Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal criticized the BJP for the disqualification, accusing the government of trying to silence Rahul Gandhi’s voice after he raised questions about the Adani issue.
Shashi Tharoor, another prominent Congress leader and Lok Sabha member, expressed shock at the swift action taken against Rahul Gandhi despite an ongoing appeal against the verdict. He criticized the move as “politics without restraint” and warned of its negative impact on the country’s democratic values.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a leader of the Congress party, launched a fierce criticism of the BJP, stating that despite insults hurled at Rahul Gandhi and their family, he would not back down. She emphasized that their family members have fought for democracy with their blood.
The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi has resulted in nationwide protests by Congress party workers. In one incident, several Congress leaders were detained by police in Lucknow during a protest. In Chhattisgarh, a clash broke out between Youth Congress and BJP workers, with both sides pelting stones at each other.
According to sources, Youth Congress workers organized a protest against the decision to disqualify Rahul Gandhi, but BJP workers tried to disrupt the protest. The situation quickly turned violent, and police had to intervene to bring it under control.
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