Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case by a Surat court. The disqualification will prevent Gandhi, who has served four terms in Lok Sabha, from contesting polls for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction and sentence. The court sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail for his alleged remark, “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?”, which was filed on a complaint by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi. The Congress party has vowed to fight the battle legally and politically, while Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party have expressed strong support for Gandhi. The BJP dismissed the charges and called the disqualification “lawful”.
