In a major development Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified as a Member of Lok Sabha (MP) from March 23—the  date of his conviction in the criminal defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark.

Rahul Gandhi had been elected as MP from Wayanad in Kerala. The decision follows a ruling by the Surat court on Thursday, which sentenced Gandhi for a two year jail term following a defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark made in 2019 during an election rally in Karnataka.

Rahul Gandhi made the “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname” remark in April 2019, at a Lok Sabha election rally at Kolar in Karnataka.

BJP MLA from Surat West Purnesh Modi had filed a defamation case against Gandhi.

With the disqualification, Rahul Gandhi will lose his perks that he was entitled to as MP.

Former congress leader and eminent lawyer Kapil Sibal earlier said that Gandhi’s disqualification was inevitable because he was awarded a two-year jail term.

Rahul Gandhi had earlier famously torn an ordnance introduced by the Manmohan Singh government that sought to overturn the legal ruling which automatically disqualified a convicted MP who had been awarded a two-year jail term or more.

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh tweeted that the party will fight this battle both legally and politically. We will not be intimidated or silenced. Instead of a JPC into the PM-linked Adani MahaMegaScam.

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