New Delhi. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday. This information has been given in the order issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat. According to the order, Rahul Gandhi, representing the Wayanad parliamentary seat in Kerala, is found ineligible for membership of the Lok Sabha in view of his conviction in a defamation case by a Surat court.
In fact, a court in Surat on Thursday sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years imprisonment in a criminal defamation case filed in 2019 for his ‘Modi surname’ remark. Since this decision, the danger of disqualification from the membership of the Lok Sabha was looming over Rahul Gandhi.
Significantly, according to the Representation of the People Act, a person sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more will be disqualified ‘from the date of conviction’ and he will be disqualified to become a public representative for six years after completion of the sentence. But, experts say, if the appellate court upholds Rahul Gandhi’s conviction and suspension of the two-year sentence, he will not be disqualified for membership of the Lok Sabha.
Former Secretary General of Lok Sabha and constitutional expert P. D. T. Achari said that disqualification becomes effective as soon as the punishment is announced. He said that Rahul Gandhi is free to appeal and if the appellate court stays the conviction and sentence, the disqualification will also stand suspended. “(If he is disqualified) the disqualification will be for a period of eight years,” Achari said, adding that a person disqualified can neither contest elections nor vote during that period.
