Rahul Gandhi Disqualified as Lok Sabha MP following Conviction in Defamation Case

New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as Lok Sabha MP on Friday. On Thursday a Surat court sentenced him to two-year imprisonment in a 2019 criminal defamation case. This defamation case was related to his remark “why all thieves have Modi surname”

The Lok Sabha notification declaring Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification stated, “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.

“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.”

Information regarding his disqualification as an MP was communicated to relevant authorities, including the election commission.

Reacting to it, Thiruvanathapuram MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted, “I’m stunned by this action and by its rapidity, within 24 hours of the court verdict and while an appeal was known to be in process. This is politics with the gloves off and it bodes ill for our democracy.”

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote on Twitter, “We will fight this battle both legally and politically. We will not be intimidated or silenced.”