Rahul Gandhi disqualified from Lok Sabha after he was sentenced to two years in jail by Surat court in a defamation case
In a major political development, Rahul Gandhi, Member of Parliament from Kerala’s Wayanad parliamentary constituency, has been disqualified from the Lok Sabha by the speaker of the lower house on Friday after a Surat court sentenced Gandhi to 2-year jail in a defamation case.
Rahul was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 2004 from Amethi, which had been the stronghold of Congress before Smriti Irani was elected from the seat in the last election. Rahul also won the election from Amethi in 2009 and 2014. However, he lost the 2019 election from Amethi, but won from Wayanadin Kerala.
In the defamation case, the Surat court had sentenced him to 2 years. In 2019, Rahul Gandhi gave a statement regarding the Modi surname during the assembly elections in Karnataka. He had said – Why is the surname of all thieves Modi?
The Supreme Court, in its judgment on July 11, 2013, had said that any MP or MLA would be disqualified for membership of Parliament or Legislative Assembly from the date of conviction in the lower court. The court had given this order in the case of Lily Thomas vs Union of India. Earlier, there was a provision not to terminate the membership of MLA or MP till the final decision of the court.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat has issued the disqualification letter
Rahul Gandhi was given 30 days to file an appeal against the Surat court’s decision. Rahul’s lawyer had also said that they will move the High Court against the decision. So far no appeal has been made by Rahul in the High Court.
Under Section 8 of the ‘Representation of the People’s Act 1951’, Rahul Gandhi’s membership of Parliament has been abolished.
Before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, during a rally in Kolar, Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi had said, ‘Modi is the surname of thieves. Why do all thieves have the surname Modi, be it LalitModi or Nirav Modi or Narendra Modi.
After this, Surat West’s BJP MLA Purnesh Modi filed a defamation case against Rahul. He said that Rahul Gandhi has called their entire society a thief and this is a defamation of their society. During the hearing of this case, Rahul Gandhi appeared in the court three times. During the last appearance of October 2021, he declared himself innocent.
According to his lawyer, ‘Rahul said that his intention was not wrong while giving the statement. He had raised his voice against corruption.
In this case, Rahul Gandhi was convicted by the Surat court on Thursday. The court also imposed a sentence of 2 years on him and a fine of 15 thousand. After some time, the same court also granted him bail for 30 days.
Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer Babu Mangukiya said that the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate H H Verma had convicted Rahul Gandhi under sections 499 and 500 of the IPC. It also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to give him an opportunity to appeal to the High Court.
In 2013, Rahul himself tore the ordinance, if it had been passed, Rahul would not have had any difficulty.
In 2013, when the Supreme Court decided that if the MP / MLA gets a sentence of 2 years or more, his membership will end with immediate effect. He or she will not be able to contest the next election either. At that time, this decision of the Supreme Court could have had the biggest impact on Lalu Prasad Yadav, because the verdict in the fodder scam was about to come.
Lalu’s party was part of the Manmohan Singh government at that time. In such a situation, the Manmohan government brought an ordinance against the decision of the Supreme Court, so that the decision of the Supreme Court becomes ineffective. On 24 September 2013, the Congress government called a press conference to highlight the merits of the ordinance. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi reached the press conference and said, ‘This ordinance is rubbish and should be torn and thrown away.’ He tore the copy of the ordinance. After this this ordinance is withdrawn.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that Rahul Gandhi is out on bail in a corruption case of National Herald and he has a habit of running away from the truth in Parliament.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said they will fight this battle both legally and politically.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that BJP tried all methods to disqualify Rahul. They do not like those who are speaking the truth, but Congress will keep speaking the truth.
There are 4 more defamation cases going on against Rahul Gandhi, on which the decision is pending.
In 2014, Rahul Gandhi accused the Sangh of killing Mahatma Gandhi. A case was registered against Rahul under sections 499 and 500 of the IPC in this connection and it is going on in Bhiwandi court of Maharashtra.
In 2016, a defamation case was registered against Rahul Gandhi in Guwahati, Assam under sections 499 and 500. According to the complainant, Rahul Gandhi had said that Sangh members did not allow him to enter the Barpeta Satra, a 16th-century Vaishnava monastery in Assam. This has damaged the image of the Sangh. This matter is also pending in the court.
In 2018, another case was registered against Rahul Gandhi in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand. This case is going on in the court of Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate of Ranchi. A defamation case of Rs 20 crore has been registered against Rahul under sections 499 and 500 of the IPC. In this, objection has been expressed to Rahul’s statement, in which he said ‘Modiis a thief’.
In 2018 itself, another defamation case was filed against Rahul Gandhi in Maharashtra. This case is going on in Shivdi Court located in Mazgaon. A defamation case has been registered under sections 499 and 500 of the IPC. The case was filed by the worker of the union. Rahul is accused of linking the murder of Gauri Lankesh with the ideology of the BJP and the Sangh.
Leaders lost their membership
Lalu Yadav has been the Chief Minister of Bihar and Railway Minister of the country. In the year 2013, in the fodder scam, the court convicted Lalu Yadav and sentenced him to 5 years in jail. After this, Lalu could not contest elections till 6 years after completing the sentence.
Congress MP Rasheed Masood lost his membership in the MBBS seat scam. Qazi Rashid had reached Rajya Sabha from Congress. Congress sent him to Rajya Sabha from UP. While a Rajya Sabha MP, he was found guilty in the MBBS seat scam. The court sentenced him to four years in 2013.
The membership of BJP MLA from Hamirpur Ashok Kumar Singh Chandel was lost in the year 2019 under the Representation of the People Act 1951. On 19 April 2019, the High Court sentenced him to life imprisonment in the murder case.
Bangarmau MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar was sentenced to life imprisonment in the gang rape case of a minor in Unnao. His assembly membership was terminated after his conviction.
In February this year, a special court in Moradabad sentenced SP leader Azam Khan and his MLA son Abdullah Azam to two years in a 15-year-old case. After this his legislature was disqualified. The UP Assembly Secretariat had declared the seat of Abdullah Azam vacant only after 2 days.
