Parliament membership of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was canceled on Friday (March 24). The Lok Sabha Secretariat also issued a notification regarding the cancellation of Rahul’s membership of Parliament. In a 2019 defamation case, Rahul Gandhi’s parliament membership was canceled after he was sentenced by a court in Surat, Gujarat. The lower court has sentenced Rahul Gandhi to maximum two years imprisonment, however, he has also been granted bail but the question has arisen that till when the Congress leader will be ineligible to contest the Lok Sabha or Vidhansabha elections?
An expert has said that according to the provisions of the law, Rahul Gandhi may be disqualified for eight years for contesting the Lok Sabha or Assembly elections. According to news agency PTI, a former Election Commission official and expert on electoral laws said that unless a higher court stays Rahul Gandhi’s conviction, he will be disqualified from contesting Lok Sabha or assembly elections for eight years.
Why can Rahul Gandhi be disqualified only for 8 years?
Citing Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the expert said that Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification would be for eight years, two years being imprisonment and the remaining six years being his release. shall be counted after, as prescribed in law. A jail term of two years or more provides for disqualification under the law. “He becomes disqualified for a total period of eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction,” the expert said.
Will there be a by-election on the Wayanad seat?
While not disclosing his name, the expert also said that technically the Election Commission can conduct a by-election to the Wayanad seat in Kerala as the term of the current Lok Sabha will end sometime in June next year. It has more than a year’s time. If the remaining term of the house is less than one year, then the assembly or parliamentary by-elections are postponed. He said that since the court has given the former Congress president 30 days to file an appeal against the sentence, the Election Commission may wait for it to take a decision on the bypoll.
