Soon after former Congress President Rahul Gandhi was convicted by a Surat Court in a criminal defamation case, he was declared disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday. Announcing the disqualification, the Lok Sabha Secretariat in a notification said it was effective March 23, the day Rahul was convicted.
Congress' nationwide agitation
Protesting against this development, Congress on Friday announced a nationwide agitation, alleging that the government acted with lightning speed to "gag" him. The Congress leadership including Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, K C Venugopal, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Jairam Ramesh among others, on Friday, attended a meeting where the