Shrinking space

Freedom of speech must be protected

The conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who represented Kerala’s Wayanad constituency in the present Lok Sabha, by a Surat court in a criminal defamation case connected to a speech he made while campaigning for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Kolar, Karnataka, and his disqualification from the lower house have predictably increased political heat. According to the provisions of the Representation of the People Act (1951), a person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more is disqualified to be a Member of Parliament or state legislature. Although Mr Gandhi and the Congress are