'Rahul Gandhi's disqualification an own goal by BJP': Shashi Tharoor

Condemning the act of the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Indian Congress MP Shashi Tharoor told PTI that this issue of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification is an act of achieving  BJP's "own goal".

Tharoor told PTI that this event would benefit the opposition parties and Gandhi, reports NDTV.

"This has resulted in a few unintended consequences for the BJP," he said, adding the incident had laid bare Indian democracy throughout the world.

"In every capital, there are headlines about what has happened to Rahul Gandhi. Secondly, they have also created a level of opposition unity that did not exist before," Tharoor said.

According to the Thiruvananthapuram MP, the regional parties condemned the act as an assault on democracy and those who were previously "ferociously opposed" to the Congress in their states have now come out in favour of Gandhi.

He also raised questions regarding the judgment of the Surat court, which convicted and sentenced Gandhi.

"There is something really that doesn't smell right about this," he said.

Tharoor revealed that the petitioner in the case had gone to the High Court and got a stay on his petition meanwhile the judge was then changed and the stay was withdrawn by the petitioner.

"The man who asked for the stay, comes and withdraws the stay and resumes the case and gets this judgment within a few days," he said.

The Indian PM also spoke about the procedural irregularity in the Lok Sabha having issued the disqualification notification. 

"The Constitution requires the President of India to make a decision on the matter. The Lok Sabha Secretariat signs a notification (but) there is no indication of any consultation with Rashtrapati Bhavan," Tharoor said.

He pointed out the unseemly speed" with which the Lok Sabha Secretariat acted to disqualify Rahul Gandhi when the judgment was suspended by the judge and an appeal was in process.

On Thursday, Gandhi was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.

A day later, the LS Secretariat in a notification said that his disqualification was effective from 23 March -- the day of his conviction.