Rahul Gandhi disqualified: The Lok Sabha Secretariat on Friday disqualified Rahul Gandhi from his membership of the Lok Sabha.

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The Congress leader has also been barred from contesting elections for eight years (till 2031).

Can his membership to the Lok Sabha be restored? Is this the end of Rahul Gandhi's dream of leading the Congress party into 2024 General elections, or, does he still have some options left? Zee Biz explains 

  • First of all, Rahul Gandhi has to go to a higher court to get a stay order against conviction. Right now, the lower court in Surat has only stayed his sentence, not conviction    
  • To get a stay order against conviction, he has to go to a higher court to appeal against Surat's Chief Judicial Magistrate's order. 
  • If he wants to retain his Parliament membership, then Rahul Gandhi needs to get an acquittal before a by-election is held for the Wayanad Parliamentary seat; simply a stay against his sentence won't suffice.
  • He can contest the 2024 elections only if a higher court quashes his conviction, or if the decision of the Surat lower court is overturned 
  • If a higher court doesn't quash Rahul Gandhi's conviction from the lower court, then he can not contest an election till 2031. 
  • If he gets a stay order from conviction, he has to inform the Lok Sabha secretary and request that he nullify the notice of his disqualification from the Parliament. 
  • If the Lok Sabha doesn't cancel the notification of Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha membership disqualification, the Congress leader can move court against the Lok Sabha speaker's decision