Rahul Gandhi in a September 2013 press convention criticising the Congress’s ordinance

New Delhi:

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha after his conviction in a legal defamation case comes underneath a Supreme Court order that the Congress itself tried to overturn utilizing an ordinance in 2013.

The Supreme Court in April 2013 held that MPs and MLAs convicted with a minimal two-year sentence will probably be instantly disqualified from the home with out getting three months to attraction, as was the case till then.

Five months later that yr, the ruling Congress authorities within the centre hurriedly pushed an ordinance that sought to overturn the rule that disqualifies convicted MPs and MLAs.

At that point, Mr Gandhi overtly got here out towards his get together’s choice and referred to as the transfer a “complete nonsense“.

“I personally think what the government is doing on the ordinance is wrong. It was a political decision, every party does it, and there is a time to stop this nonsense… If we actually want to stop corruption then we cannot make these compromises,” Mr Gandhi, who was 43 then, had mentioned, underscoring a seeming divide inside his get together. He mentioned the ordinance needs to be “torn and thrown out”, after which in a shocking transfer on the press convention, he tore a bit of paper.

The Congress ultimately scrapped the ordinance. The BJP got here to energy within the centre a yr later and the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi grew to become Prime Minister.

Fast ahead to right this moment, the Lok Sabha disqualified Mr Gandhi after his conviction in a legal defamation case filed by a BJP chief for asking whether or not folks with the surname “Modi” are “thieves”.

He is now not an MP underneath a rule that his get together as soon as wished to dispose of and for which he stood up towards his personal get together.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have mentioned the comment by Mr Gandhi was a smear towards all these sharing the Modi surname, which is related to Other Backward Classes, or OBCs. They mentioned Mr Gandhi’s conviction has acquired nothing to do with them and the case adopted the due technique of regulation.

“Rahul Gandhi made very derogatory remark and disgraced an entire OBC (Other Backward Classes) Community. Shockingly, some Congress leaders are trying to defend it,” BJP chief and Law Minister Kiren Rijiju mentioned.

Several opposition leaders have condemned the BJP government over what they referred to as the usage of a frivolous and weird case to focus on Mr Gandhi a yr earlier than the nationwide election.