Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition Congress party, has been disqualified from the Indian parliament on Friday, a day after a magistrate’s courtroom docket jailed him for two years in a defamation case related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname.
Gandhi “stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha”, a parliament notice said, regarding the lower house of parliament.
Gandhi was found guilty for a 2019 speech wherein he cited thieves as having the surname Modi. He made the remark whilst campaigning ahead of the last general election.
Gandhi was convicted by a court in the western state of Gujarat, which additionally granted him bail and suspended the sentence for one month.
A close aide to Gandhi said the leader had already adhered with the court order and did not enter parliament on Friday all through house proceedings. Leaders of the Congress party said they were gearing up to file an appeal in a higher court.
