Rahul Gandhi, Modi's Bitter Foe, Kicked Out Of Parliament

Rahul Gandhi, one of the last national figures standing in opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, was sacked as a member of Parliament on Friday, sending shock waves across the country’s political scene and devastating the once-powerful Indian National Congress party Gandhi leads, Suhasini Raj and Alex Travelli reported for the New York Times.

Photo Insert: Gandhi was expelled from the lower house the day after a court in Gujarat, Modi’s home state, convicted him on a charge of criminal defamation.

Gandhi was expelled from the lower house the day after a court in Gujarat, Modi’s home state, convicted him on a charge of criminal defamation.

The charge stemmed from a comment he made on the campaign trail in 2019, characterizing Modi as one of a group of “thieves” named Modi — referring to two prominent fugitives with the same last name.

Gandhi received a two-year prison sentence, the maximum. He is out on 30 days’ bail. Gandhi said in a Twitter post on Friday, “I am fighting for the voice of this country. I am ready to pay any price.”

Any jail sentence of two years or more is supposed to result in automatic expulsion, but legal experts had expected Mr. Gandhi to have the chance to challenge his conviction.

A notification signed by a parliamentary bureaucrat appointed by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday stated that Gandhi had been disqualified automatically by the conviction itself, per the Constitution of India.

“They are destroying the constitution, killing it,” said Srinivas B.V., president of the Indian National Congress Party’s youth wing. “The court gave Mr. Gandhi 30 days to appeal against the order, and hardly 24 hours have passed since.”

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