However, he was granted bail and the court suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.
Rahul’s disqualification will be effective from date of his conviction, March 23, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said in a notice.
“Rahul Gandhi… stands disqualified from the member of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction,” a notice issued by the parliament said on Friday, referring to the lower house.
Gandhi, 52, was found guilty for a speech ahead of the 2019 general election in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi.
Gandhi, a scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family, will appeal in a higher court, his party said.
Congress members held protests in some parts of the country on Friday against Gandhi’s conviction and two-year-old jail sentence.
Congress officials have described the court order as politically motivated and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting political opponents.
The Representation of the People Act, 1951, the law that governs elections in India, mandates the disqualification of any politician who is “convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years”.
Gandhi was on Thursday found guilty of defamation. The disqualification comes into effect from the date of conviction.
Kapil Sibal, a top Indian lawyer and former federal law minister, told NDTV news channel on Thursday that while Gandhi stood automatically disqualified as a legislator, his two-year jail sentence itself was “bizarre”.
“If it (the court) only suspends the sentence, that is not enough. There has to be a suspension or stay of conviction. He (Gandhi) can stay on as a member of parliament only if there is a stay on the conviction,” said Sibal, who is also a former member of the Congress party.
Gandhi now faces the risk of not being able to contest national elections due in 2024 if his conviction is not suspended or overturned by a higher court before the elections.
The law also mandates that a convicted legislator cannot contest elections for six years after the end of their jail sentence. Gandhi represents the Wayanad constituency in the southern state of Kerala.
Members of India’s main opposition Congress party will take to the streets on Friday to protest against leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction for defamation, party officials said a day after a magistrate’s court sentenced Gandhi to a two-year jail term.
Gandhi, 52, was found guilty for a 2019 speech in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi. He made the comment while campaigning ahead of the last general election to debunk economic policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was convicted by a court in the western state of Gujarat, which also gave him bail and suspended the sentence for one month.
That gives Gandhi time to appeal but he faces immediate disqualification from parliament following the conviction.
Two senior Congress leaders said that Gandhi will respect the local court’s verdict and will not attend parliament. “It is a fact that his membership stands disqualified for now but we will challenge the conviction in the court to ensure he can attend parliament proceedings,” said a federal lawmaker who is also a Congress leader.
The current parliament session began on January 31 and is scheduled to conclude on April 6.
Officials in the Congress party said they are also depending on regional opposition parties to galvanize political support against the verdict.
“It is a critical political test for Gandhi and we are depending on regional parties to support the Congress and stand against Modi’s party,” said a second senior Congress leader on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the press. The president’s office confirmed that Congress leaders have sought a meeting with President Draupadi Murmu to lodge a protest against the conviction with the top constitutional executive.
