The announcement came via a notification issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat and sparked a wave of condemnation from Opposition parties, including the Congress that said it will launch a mass movement, even as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Gandhi had insulted backward groups with his comment.
“I am fighting for the voice of India. I am ready to pay any cost,” Gandhi tweeted hours after he was expelled from the Lower House. BJP chief JP Nadda called Gandhi arrogant. “He repeatedly hurt the sentiments of the OBCs,” he added.
Under the law, the conviction and two-year jail term renders Gandhi unfit to enter either House of Parliament for a period of eight years. But this can be reversed if he can get the conviction overturned or reduced by a higher court, something his party vowed to do at the earliest.
“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, signed by Lok Sabha secretary general Utpal Kumar Singh, said.
The development comes a year before general elections in India and months ahead of a clutch of key assembly elections where the Congress and the BJP square off against each other. The disqualification also sparked a rare moment of Opposition unity, with nearly every opposition leader backing Gandhi, 52, and calling it a new low for constitutional democracy.
“It’s not just a fight of the Congress or Rahul Gandhi, it’s a fight of the entire opposition,” said Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
This story is from the March 25, 2023 edition of Hindustan Times.
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This story is from the March 25, 2023 edition of Hindustan Times.
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