India: Opposition's Rahul Gandhi barred from parliament
A day after being convicted of defamation, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified from India's parliament. Supporters of his Congress party have also gathered to protest.
The leader of India's opposition, Rahul Gandhi, was disqualified from parliament on Friday, a day after being convicted of defamation, Indian media reported.
Gandhi "stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha" — the lower house of India's parliament, a statement said.
Indian lawmakers took the action against the leader of the Congress party as his supporters gathered in some parts of the country to protest his conviction and sentencing to two years in prison.
The 52-year-old was found guilty of defamation over a speech he gave in 2019 in which he referred to people with the surname Modi — such as current Prime Minister Narendra Modi — as thieves.
Members of the Congress party have said that the sentencing of Gandhi — a descendent of the powerful Nehru-Gandhi family — was politically motivated pointing to Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
News site India Today reported that Gandhi will now not be able to contest elections for eight years, a major setback for the opposition party.
More to come…
ab/rc (Reuters, AFP)
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19 of April 2024
