NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified as an MP from Lok Sabha.
Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad Rahul Gandhi was disqualified on Friday (March 24) after he was convicted in a defamation case.
Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified from the Lok Sabha with effect from March 23.
“Shri Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency of Kerala stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 23 March, 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951,” the Lok Sabha secretariat said in a notification issued on Friday (March 24).
Shashi Tharoor, another senior Congress MP, said it bodes ill for democracy.
“I’m stunned by this action and by its rapidity, within 24 hours of the court verdict and while an appeal was known to be in process. This is politics with the gloves off and it bodes ill for our democracy,” he tweeted.
Earlier in the day, the Opposition MPs held a brief meeting at Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge’s office in the Parliament and then marched towards the Rashtrapati Bhawan brandishing posters, saying, “Democracy is in Danger”.
The security was beefed up in the Vijay Chowk area in view of the protest.
The stir later dispersed with a few of the MPs being detained from Vijay Chowk while others leaving the spot.