Before Rahul his grandmother Indira Gandhi had also lost MP status, here's what had happened
1 min read 24 Mar 2023, 03:40 PM ISTIndira Gandhi, former prime minister of India, had also lost her MP status back in 1975
PremiumThe parliament on Friday disqualified opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi as a lawmaker, a day after he was found guilty of defamation by a lower court. This would mean he is set to lose the perks and privileges of a Member of Parliament.
Gandhi "stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha", a notice said, referring to the lower house of parliament.
His disqualification as Wayanad MP is effective from March 23, the day of his conviction, the secretariat said in its notification.
Interestingly, Rahul Gandhi's grandmother Indira Gandhi, former prime minister of India, had also lost her MP status back in 1975.
On June 12, 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court invalidates Indira Gandhi's 1971 electoral victory and barred her from holding elected office for six years for electoral malpractices, as per a news report.
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Congress leaders on Friday questioned the legality of the disqualification. President of the Congress party Mallikarjun Kharge told ANI, they (BJP) tried all ways to disqualify him. They don't want to keep those who are speaking the truth but we will continue to speak the truth. We'll continue to demand JPC, If needed we'll go to jail to save democracy.
Taking to Twitter, Tharoor said, "I am stunned by this action and by its rapidity, within 24 hours of the court verdict and while an appeal was known to be in process. This is politics with the gloves off and it bodes ill for our democracy."
Gandhi, 52, a scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, was convicted on Thursday for a 2019 speech in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi. He had commented, "how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname" during an election rally in Karnataka.
A court in Surat sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in a defamation case on Thursday. However, he was granted bail immediately and the sentence was suspended for a month.
Congress members held protests in some parts of the country on Friday against Gandhi's conviction and two-year-old jail sentence. They have described the judgment as politically motivated and blamed the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
