NEW DELHI – The Indian parliament has disqualified opposition leader Rahul Gandhi after his conviction in a defamation case. A court had sentenced Gandhi to two years in prison this week.
Rahul Gandhi “stands disqualified from the member of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction,” according to a notice published by the parliament on Friday.
Gandhi’s statement that all crooks in India had the surname Modi during a speech he gave prior to the 2019 general elections contributed to the conviction.
Gandhi would appeal the parliament’s judgement to a higher court, according to officials with the Congress. In reaction to the verdict and sentencing to prison, the opposition party organised protests around the nation.
Officials from the opposition Congress Party have dubbed the court order “politically motivated” and charged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are specifically targeting political rivals.
The Law
As per The Representation of the People Act, 1951, any politician found “convicted of any offense and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years” shall stand disqualified. It also bars a convicted lawmaker from contending in elections for six years after completion of jail sentence.
Contesting Elections
The conviction may also block Rahul Gandhi from contesting in general elections due in 2024. He would only be able to do so until a court nullifies his conviction before the polls.
