India’s parliament disqualified the chief of the opposition Congress occasion, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday, a day after a Justice of the Peace’s court docket jailed him for 2 years in a defamation case linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname.
Gandhi “stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha,” a parliament discover mentioned, referring to the decrease home of parliament.
Gandhi, 52, was discovered responsible for a 2019 speech by which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi. He made the remark whereas campaigning forward of the final common election.
Gandhi was convicted by a court docket within the western state of Gujarat, which additionally granted him bail and suspended the sentence for one month.
An in depth aide to Gandhi mentioned the chief had already adhered to the court docket order and didn’t enter parliament Friday throughout home proceedings.
Leaders of the Congress occasion mentioned they have been gearing as much as file an enchantment in the next court docket.
“This battle will be fought both legally and politically,” mentioned Pawan Khera, the nationwide spokesperson of the occasion.
“Rahul Gandhi will not stop from asking difficult questions and exposing crony capitalism and this government’s active role in promoting and protecting it,” he mentioned.
Earlier within the day, Congress occasion members held protests in some elements of the nation in opposition to Gandhi’s conviction and two-year-old jail sentence.
Congress occasion officers have described the judgment as politically motivated and blamed the federal government of Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“The BJP is fearful about the rise of Rahul Gandhi and he poses a direct threat to the Modi government,” mentioned Pradip Bhattacharya, a Congress occasion lawmaker from West Bengal state.
BJP president J.P. Nadda dismissed the fees and mentioned that Gandhi had insulted a bit of Indians who occur to share the identical surname as Prime Minister Modi.
“It is one thing to question government regarding the policies, that would be considered a healthy debate, but clearly the Congress has never followed such rules,” he advised Reuters.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
