India’s main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified as a member of parliament, a day after being convicted in a defamation case and sentenced to two years in jail.
“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.
In a tweet in Hindi following the move, Gandhi said he is “fighting for India’s voice” and that he “will pay any price for it”.
According to Al Jazeera, Gandhi, 52, was found guilty in a case related to his speech ahead of the 2019 general elections in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi.
Gandhi, a scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family and former president of the Congress party, will appeal in a higher court, the party said.
Congress officials have described the court order as politically motivated and accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting political opponents.
