Fighting for voice of India, ready to pay any price: Rahul on disqualification

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he is fighting for the voice of India and "ready to pay any cost" hours after being disqualified from Lok Sabha. The move came a day after his conviction in a defamation case for a remark seen as an insult to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a tweet in Hindi, Rahul Gandhi said, "I am fighting for the voice of India. I am ready to pay any price."

Announcing his disqualification, the Lok Sabha Secretariat in a notification said it was effective from March 23, the day of his conviction.

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

Meanehile, several opposition leaders hit out at the BJP following the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as an MP on Friday, alleging that the ruling party was involved in vindictive politics, and said it was a new low for democracy.

The Congress has said it will fight the matter politically and legally, while the BJP has said the decision to disqualify Gandhi was a legal one and not a political call.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee said opposition leaders have become the "prime target of BJP".

"In PM (Narendra) Modi's New India, opposition leaders have become the prime target of BJP! While BJP leaders with criminal antecedents are inducted into the Cabinet, opposition leaders are disqualified for their speeches," she tweeted.

"Today, we have witnessed a new low for our constitutional democracy," tweeted Banerjee in support of Gandhi, even as her party has taken a step back from being part of a Congress-led opposition against the BJP. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal described Gandhi's disqualification as shocking.

"The expulsion of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha is shocking. The country is passing through very difficult times. They have kept the whole country scared. 130 crore people will have to unite against their arrogant power," he said in a tweet.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said the disqualification of Gandhi is a "vendetta battle" and exposed how opposition leaders are living in a state of Emergency while BJP leaders are living in "Amrit Kaal".

The Lok Sabha Secretariat can disqualify Rahul Gandhi and declare his Wayanad constituency vacant. Later, the Election Commission will announce a special election for the seat.

This scenario comes into play unless the conviction is put on hold by a higher court. If the verdict is not cancelled, Rahul Gandhi will also not be allowed to contest elections for the next eight years.

If the appeal for suspension of sentence is not accepted by a high court, Rahul Gandhi can move the Supreme Court.