A day after being found guilty of defamation and given a two-year prison sentence, Rahul Gandhi, the leader of India’s major opposition, was stripped of his right to serve in parliament.
Rahul Gandhi, who represents the lower house, “stands disqualified from the member of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction,” according to a notification released by the parliament on Friday.
Gandhi declared in a tweet that he was “fighting for India’s voice” and that he “would pay any price for it” after the action.
In a case involving his speech prior to the 2019 general elections, in which he referred to thieves as having the last name Modi, Gandhi, 52, was declared guilty.
Gandhi, a descendant of Nehru and Gandhi and a previous leader of the Congress party, said he would appeal the decision in a higher court.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been accused by Congress officials of targeting political rivals and of having a political motive for the court decision.
The party is “absolutely ready to fight this legally and, of course, politically,” according to Congress spokesman Pawan Khera.
“We are in the people’s courts, and in terms of the legal options, our legal experts are researching the corrective options available to us,” he said.
“The government understands, and if they don’t, they will soon understand, that while Rahul Gandhi may not have been as lethal or risky for them in the parliament, he will be much more difficult for them to control on the streets of India. We have company.”
In some regions of the nation earlier on Friday, Congress supporters protested against Gandhi’s conviction and two-year prison sentence.
The defamation legislation has been widely accused of being used by Modi’s administration to target and silence critics. The lawsuit against Gandhi in Gujarat is just one of many that have been brought against him.
Rahul Gandhi’s ascent has the BJP worried because he directly threatens the Modi administration, according to Congressman Pradip Bhattacharya of West Bengal.
The phrase “Black Day for Indian Democracy” The party’s youth wing head, Srinivas Bhadravathi Venkata, posted on Twitter.
JP Nadda, the head of the BJP, rejected the accusations, claiming that Gandhi had insulted a group of Indians who happened to have the same last name as Prime Minister Modi.
He told the Reuters news agency, “It is one thing to question government regarding the policies; that would be deemed a healthy debate, but obviously the Congress has never followed such rules.
According to Gandhi, Modi “has been accused of crony capitalism and favoring certain business houses for lucrative contracts.”
She added, “He has also led the criticism on minority problems and rights in India.
“All of this takes place in the broader political setting as India gets ready for general elections the following year. Therefore, opposing parties think that these are intimidation strategies to give the BJP an advantage in the elections.
Gandhi is the main representative of Congress, which was once the dominant force in Indian politics and proudly played a part in ending British colonial rule but is now only a shell of what it once was.
As the son, grandson, and great-grandson of past prime ministers, starting with independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru, he is a member of India’s most illustrious political dynasty.
He has, however, found it difficult to stand up to Modi’s electoral machine and its nationalist pleas to the nation’s majority of Hindus.
Gandhi questioned why “all thieves have Modi as [their] common surname” during the 2019 election campaign, which led to the court decision on Thursday.
His words were taken as a jab at the prime minister, who went on to easily win the race.
Government officials added that the comment was a smear against all bearers of the Modi surname, which is linked to the lowest castes in India’s intricate caste system.
Gandhi is dealing with at least two additional libel lawsuits in the nation, as well as a money laundering case that has been wending its way through India’s cumbersome judicial system for more than ten years.
Any politician who has been “convicted of any offense and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years” is prohibited from running in elections in India, according to the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Gandhi is no longer eligible starting on the day of his sentencing.
Top Indian attorney and former federal law minister Kapil Sibal told the NDTV news station on Thursday that while Gandhi was automatically disqualified from holding public office, his two-year prison sentence was nonetheless “bizarre.”
“It is insufficient if the judge only suspends the sentence. Conviction must be either suspended or stayed. Gandhi can continue serving as a member of parliament only if the verdict is overturned, according to Sibal, a former congressman.
If Gandhi’s sentence is not suspended or overturned by a higher court prior to the elections, he now runs the risk of being unable to run in the national elections scheduled for 2024.
A legislator who has been convicted of a crime is prohibited from running for office for six years after serving their term.
Gandhi is the representative for Kerala’s Wayanad district in the south.
Several elected lawmakers from Indian legislatures have previously been found ineligible.
Rahul’s grandmother, Indira Gandhi, was briefly removed from office in 1977 as a result of a court ruling.
But in recent years, legal action has been frequently used against alternative party leaders and organizations thought to be critical of the government.
At least 14 opposition parties filed a petition with the Supreme Court on Friday, accusing Modi’s administration of misusing federal investigative agencies.
Manish Sisodia, a senior official in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which controls Delhi state, was detained by federal investigators last month on suspicion of corruptly profiting from changes made to the capital’s liquor licensing laws.
Also in February, the BBC’s regional offices were searched by Indian tax officials after the broadcaster aired a documentary about Modi’s involvement in the Gujarat riots of 2002 while he was the state’s chief minister.
Following that, the Editors Guild of India claimed that the searches were a part of a larger “trend of using government agencies to intimidate or harass press organizations that are critical of government policies.”
The room for dissent in India has allegedly been closing down since Modi took office in 2014, according to rights organizations.
