India: Mr. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of India’s main opposition, was stripped of his right to serve in parliament a day after being found guilty of defamation and given a two-year prison sentence.

“Rahul Gandhi … stands disqualified from the member of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction,” a notice issued by the parliament stated referring to the lower house. In a case involving his speech prior to the 2019 general elections, in which he referred to robbers as having the last name Mr. Modi, 52-year-old Mr. Gandhi was convicted guilty.

Mr. Gandhi, a scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family and former president of the Congress party will appeal in a higher court, the party noted. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been accused by Congress officials of targeting political rivals and of having a political motive for the court order.

In several regions of the nation earlier, Congress members protested against Mr. Gandhi’s conviction and two-year prison sentence. The defamation law has been accused of being exploited by Mr. Modi’s administration to target and silence critics. The case against Gandhi in Gujarat is just one of many that have been brought against him.

Mr. JP Nadda, the president of the BJP, rejected the accusations, claiming that Gandhi had insulted a group of Indians who happened to have the same last name as Prime Minister Mr. Modi.

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