Rahul Gandhi disqualified by parliament after conviction in ’Modi Surname’ case

Rahul Gandhi disqualified by parliament after conviction in ’Modi Surname’ case

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, March 24, 2023: India’s parliament on Friday disqualified opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a lawmaker after a lower court found him guilty of defamation and sentenced him to two years in prison, according to a parliament notice. "Consequent upon his conviction by the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Surat in C.C./18712/2019, Shri Rahul Gandhi, Member of the Lok Sabha constituency representing the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency of Kerala stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction, i.e March 23, 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 notice read.

 

Gandhi, 52, was convicted on Thursday for a 2019 speech in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi. The court granted him bail immediately and suspended the sentence for a month.

The Congress party has called a meeting of its steering committee members, senior leaders, state chiefs and legislative party leaders on Friday evening to devise a strategy after Rahul Gandhi’s conviction.

Jairam Ramesh, the Congress’ general secretary in charge of communications, tweeted that the party will fight this battle both legally and politically. "We will fight this battle both legally & politically. We will not be intimidated or silenced. Instead of a JPC into the PM-linked Adani MahaMegaScam, Rahul Gandhi stands disqualified. Indian Democracy Om Shanti," Ramesh said.

2013 law that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opposed could have saved him now

What is interesting is that when the Supreme Court announced the 2013 order on the disqualification of politicians over criminal cases, the UPA government had suggested an ordinance that allowed convicted MPs and MLAs to retain their position in the House for 3 months after their sentence. In that period, they could appeal to higher courts for a stay order on their conviction, and retain their seat in the House.

However, Rahul Gandhi had strongly opposed to this ordinance by the UPA government and even tore a copy of the ordinance in public at the time. Other Opposition parties including the BJP were also against this suggestion as it alleged that this was a way of protecting convicted legislators. Opposition parties also accused the Congress of attempting to protect its ally Lalu Prasad Yadav who would be disqualified if found guilty in a fodder scam case in which he later was convicted.

Gandhi had stated that the ordinance was "complete nonsense" and should be "torn and thrown out". Due to this internal conflict in the views of the Congress, the UPA government had to rescind the ordinance. However, this decision seems to have turned the odds against Rahul Gandhi 10 years later as now, he stands to lose his Lok Sabha membership over his recent conviction.