‘No bypoll at Wayanad now’, says EC after Rahul Gandhi's disqualification
2 min read 29 Mar 2023, 01:43 PM ISTChief election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar said that they are not in a hurry to conduct by-polls at Wayanad.
PremiumThere will be no by-election at Wayanad constituency, held by Rahul Gandhi before his disqualification from Parliament, the ECI said on Wednesday.
Briefing about the Karnataka Assembly polls, the Chief election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar added that they are not in a hurry to conduct by-polls at Wayanad.
The Election Commission of India said the trial court has given Rahul Gandhi one month time to file an appeal, therefore they cannot conduct by-polls at Wayanad, Kerala.
"There is no hurry, we will wait. There is no hurry to do it before exhausting that particular remedy that the trial court had accorded. We will take a call after that," the chief election commissioner said.
He said the vacancy in the Wayanad parliamentary party was notified on March 23 this year and as per the law, a poll has to be conducted within six months.
Kumar said the law also states that if the remainder of the term was less than one year, then the election will not be held.
The CEC said that in the case of Wayanad, the remainder of the term is more than a year.
After Rahul Gandhi's membership got scrapped from parliament, several people termed the action against the senior Congress leader a move against democracy. They said that it would bring together all opposition parties to fight against fascism.
The Congress party and a section of Left workers in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency also expressed sentiments that the BJP was engaged in revenge politics against the Gandhi scion.
Gandhi, a former Congress president, was on 23 March sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court after he was held guilty of defamation over his "Modi surname" remark. The court also suspended the jail sentence for 30 days to allow Gandhi to appeal in a higher court.
Later the Lok Sabha secretariat disqualified him from the parliament and notice was issued that he has lost all the perks of an MP. Gandhi has also been asked to vacate his 12 Tughlaq Lane bungalow where he has been residing for 19 years when he first won the election from Amethi seat in Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, the Congress workers and other opposition parties have criticised the Centre, including Prime Minister Modi for playing 'petty politics' and accused the government of 'trampling democracy'.
Yesterday, Congress took out 'mashal' march in Old Delhi wherein, many workers were detained by the Delhi Police.
