Restoration of MP Faizal’s Lok Sabha Membership Sparks Political Row Over Rahul Gandhi’s Disqualification

New Delhi (India), March 29, 2023: Lok Sabha membership of Mohammed Faizal, an MP from Lakshadweep, has been restored after his conviction in a criminal case was put on hold.

The move has sparked a political row over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi, who was sentenced to two years in jail by a Gujarat court. Sources suggest that Gandhi’s legal team may cite Faizal’s case as an example to seek a stay on his conviction and restore his Lok Sabha membership.

Faizal, a member of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of Sharad Pawar, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted murder. He was automatically disqualified from parliament after his conviction, but the sentence was stayed by the Kerala High Court in January.

Faizal challenged the Lok Sabha secretariat’s “unlawful action” in not withdrawing his disqualification as an MP more than two months after his sentence was put on hold.

The Congress, meanwhile, is gearing up for a legal battle if the Election Commission announces dates for by-elections in Wayanad, the constituency that falls vacant after Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification. Gandhi’s petition challenging his conviction by a court in Gujarat’s Surat may be filed today or tomorrow in a sessions court, sources said.

The Representation of the People Act, 1951, states that anyone convicted of an offense and sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more stands disqualified. This rule was invoked when Rahul Gandhi was held guilty by the Surat court in a defamation case linked to his “Modi surname” comments.