Rahul Gandhi disqualified from Lok Sabha

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified from the Lok Sabha, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said on Friday.

His disqualification as Wayanad MP is effective from March 23, the day of his conviction, the secretariat said in its notification.

A court in Surat sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in a defamation case on Thursday, filed on a complaint by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi for his alleged remark, "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?"

Earlier this morning, Gandhi attended a meeting of party MPs before the start of the House proceedings in Parliament. Congress Parliamentary Party Chief Sonia Gandhi was also present during the meeting.

The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma, which held 52-year-old Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500, also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.  

Gandhi's disqualification as a member of parliament can be reversed if the appellate court suspends the conviction as well as the two-year jail term.