Odisha Assembly Adjourned After Rukus Over disqualification of Rahul Gandhi

Bhubaneswar: 27/3/23:Congress MLAs created a ruckus in the assembly on Sunday over the hurried disqualification of party MP Rahul Gandhi from Parliament. Congress MLAs create ruckus in Odisha Assembly wearing black clothes as a mark of protest against disqualification of Rahul Gandhi.

The House witnessed several adjournments as the Congress legislators protested Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha. Later, the Speaker adjourned the House till 4 pm.

On Friday morning, Rahul Gandhi was suspended from the Lok Sabha following his conviction in a criminal defamation case. The Lok Sabha Secretariat also declared his constituency in Kerala’s Wayanad as vacant.

According to the Representation of the People Act, a lawmaker sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more shall be disqualified “from the date of such conviction” and remain disqualified for another six years after serving prison time.

On Thursday, a court in Surat found Rahul Gandhi guilty and sentenced him to two years in prison in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname. The Congress leader, however, was granted bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to allow him to appeal the Surat court verdict.

The case was filed against Rahul Gandhi by BJP MLA and ex-Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for saying “how come all thieves have the common surname Modi” while campaigning in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.