RAHUL DISQUALIFIED AS MP, CONG TO FIGHT IT LEGALLY

The disqualification is applicable with immediate effect

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In a major development, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after he was convicted by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case.

Announcing his disqualification, the Lok Sabha Secretariat in a notification said that it was effective from 23 March, the day of his conviction.

“Consequent upon his conviction by the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Surat... 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,” the notification read.

The court in Surat sentenced on Thursday Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in a defamation case, filed on a complaint by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi for his alleged remark, “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?”

Following his disqualification, Rahul Gandhi would not be able to contest elections for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction and sentence.