Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha is a political hot potato. On the one hand, Congress supporters are hoping that Gandhi will be the next Prime Minister and on the other hand, he is not even qualified for membership of the Parliament. The hope of his supporters thinned after Gujarat High Court’s order on July 7 in which the court did not give any relief to the Congress leader. Observing that ‘purity in politics’ is the need of the hour, the Gujarat High Court on Friday dismissed Gandhi’s plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark.
In a setback for 53-year-old Gandhi, Justice Hemant Prachchhak also noted that representatives of the people should be “men of clear antecedent” and that a stay on conviction is not a rule, but an exception resorted only in rare cases. There was no reasonable ground to stay the conviction, it added. A stay on Gandhi’s conviction would have paved the way for his reinstatement as a Lok Sabha MP. The court also noted Gandhi took Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name in his speech to “add sensation” and with an intention to “affect the result” of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Congress said it will move the Supreme Court against the verdict and alleged that the government is finding “newer techniques” to throttle his voice as it is rattled by him speaking the truth.
Gandhi’s action boomeranged him
Ten years ago Gandhi had publically torn an ordinance brought by his party’s government that gave convicted lawmakers a three-month reprieve to retain their seats. On September 28, 2013, Congress leader called the ordinance ‘complete nonsense’. The Manmohan Cabinet had approved the executive order to protect leaders from disqualification – a precedent set in the Lily Thomas vs Union of India case, where the Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers including MPs would immediately lose their membership if sentenced to a minimum term of two years.
The law is a big hurdle for Gandhi scion as he is hopeful to win the legal battle in the apex court.
Meanwhile, Gandhi is not the only MP who was disqualified from the 17th Lok Sabha.
Here are list of some disqualified MPs
Lorho S Pfoze: Naga People’s Front (NPF) MP Lorho S Pfoze was disqualified after Manipur High Court declared his election as a Member of Parliament from Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency invalid for filing a false affidavit during the 2019 Parliamentary elections. However, the Supreme Court stayed the Manipur HC order later.
P Ravindhranath Kumar: AIADMK leader and Theni MP P Ravindranath Kumar was disqualified by the Madras High Court for rigging the election on July 26. The court gave him a month time to file a petition in the Supreme Court.
Afzal Ansari: BSP leader Afzal Ansari, MP from Ghazipur, was disqualified from the Lok Sabha after being convicted and sentenced in a case of kidnapping and murder on May 1, 2023.
Mohammed Faizal PP: NCP leader and Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal was disqualified from the Lok Sabha after being convicted in an attempt to murder case by a court in the union territory on January 14, 2023. However, The Kerala High Court on January 25 suspended the conviction and sentence of Faizal.
Lalu Yadav saga
Meanwhile, the law came into the limelight after it prohibited veteran Bihar politician Lalu Prasad Yadav from contesting elections for 11 years. It indirectly ends the political career of the former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD chief Prasad in 2013 as he was convicted and sentenced in a 17-year-old fodder case.
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