Today, the Parliament of India disqualified opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi as a lawmaker after a Surat court found him guilty of defamation and sentenced him to two years in prison, according to a Parliament notice, according to media reports.

Yesterday, the Court convicted him for a 2019 speech in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi. The parliament held that his disqualification as Wayanad MP is effective from March 23, the day of his conviction, the secretariat said in its notification. The court granted him bail immediately and suspended the sentence for a month.

Earlier on Friday, the day after the Congress leader was convicted in a defamation case, Opposition MPs held a brief meeting at Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge’s office in the Parliament and then marched to the Rashtrapati Bhavan with posters, saying, “democracy is in danger”. 

The Congress planned a massive agitation in Delhi. It is scheduled to meet President Droupadi Murmu along with other party leaders to discuss the verdict. 

Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi were on Thursday sentenced to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him for his alleged “Modi surname” remarks. Moments later, the court granted him bail and stayed its order for a period of 30 days so the Congress leader can appeal in a higher court.