TEHRAN, Mar. 24 (MNA) – India's parliament disqualified the leader of the opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday, a day after a magistrate's court jailed him for two years in a defamation case.

Parliament disqualified the main opposition leader day after Gujarat court jails him for two years in a defamation case linked to Modi’s surname, media reported on Friday.

“Rahul Gandhi… stands disqualified from the member of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction,” a notice issued by the parliament said on Friday, referring to the lower house, Al-Jazeera reported.

Gandhi, 52, was found guilty for a speech ahead of the 2019 general election in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi.

Gandhi, a scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family and former president of the Congress party, will appeal in a higher court, the party said.

MNA