Kerala CM terms Rahul's disqualification as 'attack on democracy'

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday termed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha as a ''violent attack on democracy'' by the Sangh Parivar.

Gandhi was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court on Wednesday 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 March 23 -- the day of his conviction.

Vijayan said the ''hasty'' disqualification of Gandhi was the ''latest chapter'' of the Sangh Parivar assault on democracy.

''Suppressing dissent by force is a fascist method,'' Vijayan said in a statement.