In a major development, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after he was convicted by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat in its notification said it was effective from 23 March over his ‘Modi surname’ remark.
Rahul Gandhi represented the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency in Kerala. Surat High Court on Thursday sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years jail in a defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark made in during the 2019 Lok Sabha election rally in Karnataka.
Rahul Gandhi remarked, “How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname” remark in April 2019, at a rally in Kolar, Karnataka.
The court granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal to a higher court. The criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi was filed by BJP MLA from Surat West Purnesh Modi.
The Congress has blamed the BJP and described the judgement as politically motivated.
A politician can be declared ineligible from a legal standpoint in several situations.
A member of the Parliament or Legislative Assembly may be disqualified under Articles 102(1) and 191(1), respectively.
The Constitution’s Tenth Schedule allows for the disqualification of members due to defection.