India’s parliament disqualifies Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the main opposition Congress party
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been sentenced to two years in prison in a criminal defamation case.
India’s parliament on Friday, disqualified Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the main opposition Congress party.
The development comes a day after a court jailed Gandhi for two years in a defamation case loosely linked to the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.
Rahul Gandhi “stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha”, a parliament notice said, referring to the lower house of parliament.
India's opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified as a member of the Parliament. Modi has made India a Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/r2tqpmoo30
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) March 24, 2023
Rahul Gandhi has been sentenced to two years in prison in a criminal defamation case for remarks he made about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname during an election rally in 2019.
Gandhi was present in the local court in the western state of Gujarat, Modi’s home state when the sentence was pronounced Thursday.
The court also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for one month.
The court’s verdict arrives a year before India is due to hold parliamentary elections in April-May 2024 when Prime Minister Modi is expected to seek a third term.