New Delhi: The Parliament this noon disqualified Opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi as an MP a day after a Surat Court found him guilty of defamation and sentenced him to two years in prison, according to a Parliament notice.
Rahul Gandhi, 52, was convicted yesterday for a 2019 speech in Kolar, Karnataka, where he had referred to ‘thieves as having the surname Modi.’ The Court granted him bail immediately and suspended the sentence for a month.
Though Rahul Gandhi was granted bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to let him appeal the decision, the Court’s order put him at risk of automatic disqualification as an MP under the law.
Former Congress leader and Supreme Court Advocate Kapil Sibal said that Rahul stands automatically disqualified as an MP with his two-year jail sentence. “If it (the Court) only suspends the sentence that’s not enough. There has to be a suspension or stay on conviction,” Sibal said.
This post was published on March 24, 2023 8:00 pm