The Congress party suffered a massive setback when its former president Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Parliament (MP) following his conviction in a criminal defamation case on March 23, 2019, over his “Modi Surname” remark.

“Shri Rahul Gandhi, Member of Parliament for the Lok Sabha of Wayanad Assembly Constituency, Kerala, has his Lok Sabha disqualified under Section 102(1)(e) from the date of conviction, which is March 23, 2023 Membership part of the Constitution of India read together with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951,” the Lok Sabha secretariat said in a notification issued today.

Section 8(3) of the People’s Representation Act 1951 provides that once an MP is found guilty of any crime and sentenced to a minimum of two years imprisonment, she or he will be disqualified.

This morning, congress units in several states launched protests simultaneously, accusing the central government of a political vendetta. Karnataka police have detained Congress party president DK Shivakumar and other party leaders and workers protesting the Surat court sentence against Rahul Gandhi.

Congress described the judgement as politically motivated and blamed the government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP said an independent judiciary delivered the conviction after Rahul Gandhi insulted the OBC community with his “thief” remarks.

Congress Party President Mallikarjun Kharge said his party was seeking answers on who was stealing people’s money while the BJP is trying to divert attention from the main issue.

Rahul Gandhi could avoid immediate disqualification from parliament if the appeals court upheld his conviction and two-year prison sentence.