Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat sessions court in a defamation case

National Desk:
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat sessions court in a defamation case.  The court has granted bail to Rahul Gandhi, but the two-year sentence has deepened the crisis on his membership of Parliament.  If Rahul Gandhi had not torn up the ordinance introduced by the Manmohan Singh government 10 years ago, his membership would not have been in any crisis.
 According to the Representatives of the People Act, if MPs and MLAs have been sentenced to more than 2 years in any case, their membership (Parliament and Assembly) will be cancelled.  Moreover, he will not be able to contest elections for six years after serving his sentence.
   In September 2013, the UPA government passed an ordinance.  It was aimed at nullifying an order passed by the Supreme Court in July of the same year, which had said that the membership of MPs and MLAs would be canceled if convicted.  The ordinance was introduced by the Congress and many opposition parties including the BJP and the Left started attacking the Congress.
   The ordinance was introduced after the Manmohan Singh government was accused of promoting corruption.  At the same time, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was also facing disqualification over the fodder scam.