DAY AFTER CONVICTION, INDIA’S RAHUL GANDHI DISQUALIFIED FROM PARLIAMENT

Fri 24 March 2023:

Rahul Gandhi, India’s main opposition leader, has been disqualified as a member of parliament, just one day after being convicted in a defamation case and sentenced to two years in prison.

“Rahul Gandhi… stands disqualified from the member of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction,” a notice issued by the parliament said on Friday, referring to the lower house.

Gandhi, 52, was found guilty for a speech ahead of the 2019 general election in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi.

Gandhi, a scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family and former president of the Congress party, will appeal in a higher court, the party said.

According to Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, if an MP is convicted of any offence and is sentenced for at least two years, he attracts disqualification. The conviction, which is likely to be challenged in a sessions court, and then, if necessary, before the high court and Supreme Court, could also result in Gandhi getting barred from contesting elections for the next eight years.

Gandhi was convicted for the remarks he made at a pre-election rally in 2019 in Kolar, Karnataka. He was alleged to have said, “I have a question. Why do all of them — all of these thieves — have Modi Modi Modi in their names? Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi. And if we search a bit more, many more such Modis will come out.”

RAHUL GANDHI CONVICTED IN ‘MODI SURNAME’ DEFAMATION CASE, GIVEN TWO-YEAR SENTENCE

Subsequently, Purnesh Modi, who was a minister in Gujarat at the time, filed a complaint alleging that he had defamed the entire Modi community.

The Surat court had, while convicting the Congress leader and sentencing him to two years in jail, granted him bail for 30 days to appeal against the decision. The sentence was also suspended for 30 days.

Following his conviction, Gandhi tweeted a famous line spoken by Mahatma Gandhi in Hindi. It said: “My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God, non-violence the means to get it.”

मेरा धर्म सत्य और अहिंसा पर आधारित है। सत्य मेरा भगवान है, अहिंसा उसे पाने का साधन।

– महात्मा गांधी

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 23, 2023

‘BJP fearful of Gandhi’s rise’

Congress officials have described the court order as politically motivated and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting political opponents.

“This battle will be fought both legally and politically,” said Congress spokesman Pawan Khera.