Fighting for the voice of India, says Rahul Gandhi after Parliament disqualification

Reacting to his disqualification as a member of parliament on Friday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he is "ready to pay any cost". The action was taken the day after he was found guilty of defamation for making a comment that was deemed to be offensive to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After receiving a two-year prison term in a defamation case from 2019, the former Congress President was removed from the lower chamber of the Parliament on Friday.

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His constituency in Wayanad, Kerala, was also declared vacant by the Lok Sabha Secretariat. A special election for the position may now be declared by the Election Commission. Gandhi will have one month to leave his Delhi government home.

The 52-year-old was found guilty by a jury and given a two-year prison term in Gujarat on Thursday for remarks he made in 2019 linking the last name of Prime Minister Modi with those of two wanted businesspeople, noting how the "thieves" had the same last name.

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The court also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal to a higher court. However, according the legislation, any MP who is convicted of a felony and given a prison term of at least two years is eligible to be removed.

A person who receives a jail term of two years or more is prohibited from running for office "from the date of such conviction" and for a further six years after serving their sentence, according to the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Also Read: 'No change in Rahul Gandhi's conduct...' Surat court's 168-page verdict

• Congress
• Lok Sabha
• Rahul Gandhi
• Parliament disqualification
• PM Modi