US, Germany Take Note Of Rahul Gandhi's Ouster as MP

The United States and Germany have taken note of the verdict of the the first instance of suspension from Parliament of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

During a press briefing that was aired on German state-owned international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), a German Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, "We have taken note of the verdict of first instance against the Indian opposition politician Rahul Gandhi as well as the suspension of his parliamentary mandate. To our knowledge, Mr Gandhi is in a position to appeal the verdict,"

"It will then become clear whether this verdict will stand and whether the suspension of his mandate has any basis," the spokesperson added.

Germany "expects that the standards of judicial independence and fundamental democratic principles will apply in the the case," she further said.

Earlier this week, US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said that the US is closely watching Rahul Gandhi's case in Indian courts.

"Respect for the rule of law and judicial independence is a cornerstone of any democracy, and we're watching Mr Gandhi's case in Indian courts," he said while addressing a press briefing in Washnigton

Patel said that the US engages with the Indian government on a shared commitment to democratic values, including freedom of expression.

"The US engages with the government of India on our shared commitment to democratic values, including of course freedom of expression in our engagements with our Indian partners," Patel had said.

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction in the criminal defamation case over his 'Modi surname' remark, on March 23.

A Surat court convicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday and sentenced him to two years of imprisonment in a 2019 defamation case that had been filed against him over his alleged derogatory remarks on the “Modi surname”. The court granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.

In the build-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha general elections, Gandhi had allegedly remarked, “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” during a public rally at Kolar in Karnataka. Based on it, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi had lodged a complaint against the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi.

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