Wayanad constituency declared vacant after RaGa's disqualification

CHENNAI: The Wayanad constituency in Kerala for Lok Sabha was declared vacant, hours after the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha.

As part of a protest against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha, Wayanad District Congress Committee chief ND Appachan said that the party will observe "Black Day" on Saturday.

Rahul was disqualified as a lawmaker on Friday after he was sentenced to a two-year jail term in a criminal defamation case by a court in Surat.

According to sources, it is one of the highest profile disqualifications of a sitting lawmaker in the country, and he will not be able to contest elections for the next 8 years.

Gandhi will be barred from contesting elections for a total of 8 years, including 2 years of the sentence and 6 years thereafter.

With this, the Election Commission will have to announce a fresh by-election in Wayanad in the coming days, since no seat can be left vacant for more than six months as per the rules of the Election Commission of India.

Rahul won the seat in Wayanad, Kerala in 2019 Lok Sabha elections by defeating CPI contestant PP Suneer, with a margin of more than 4.31 lakh votes.

On Thursday, Gandhi was convicted by a Surat court and was sentenced to two years imprisonment in the defamation case, filed on the complaint of BJP leader Purnesh Modi for Gandhi's alleged remark, "how come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?"

Reacting to the disqualification, Congress party said: "This is outrageous and truth shall prevail."

"The day Rahul Gandhi raised questions against Adani, PM, this type of conspiracy was started to silence Rahul Gandhi. It's a clear case of the anti-democratic, dictatorship attitude of BJP govt," added Congress MP KC Venugopal.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said Congress would continue their demand for a JPC probe into the Adani group issue despite their steps against Gandhi.