New Delhi: Congress Leader and MP Rahul Gandhi arrives at Parliament House complex during the Budget Session in New Delhi on Friday, March 24, 2023. (Photo:Qamar Sibtain/ IANS)
New Delhi| Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi is no longer a member of the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha Secretariat disqualified him on Friday. The decision has been taken by the Lok Sabha secretariat after Rahul Gandhi was convicted in the 2019 ‘Modi surname’ defamation case by a Gujarat court and sentenced to two years in prison, and now his membership in Parliament has ended. .
As per Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, as soon as a Member of Parliament is convicted of any offense and sentenced to imprisonment for a minimum of two years, he shall be disqualified for membership of Parliament. It happens. After this, the Election Commission announces the election specifically for this seat.
Earlier in its judgment of July 10, 2013, the Supreme Court in Lily Thomas v. Union of India had held that any Member of Parliament (MP), Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) or Member of a Legislative Council (MLC) who is convicted of an offense and sentenced to a minimum of two years imprisonment, ceases to be a member of the House with immediate effect.
In fact, during a rally in Kolar, Karnataka for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi had said, how come all thieves have Modi as their surname?
BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi had filed a defamation case against Rahul Gandhi regarding this matter and on Thursday, the Surat District Court convicted him in this case.
Although he has been given 30 days to appeal against the decision, the court’s decision has resulted in his ‘automatic disqualification’ from membership of Parliament.
