Indore | Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Shashi Tharoor here on Tuesday questioned the disqualification of party leader Rahul Gandhi as a Lok Sabha member, following his conviction in a defamation case. The two were speaking to mediapersons after participating in a seminar on "Protection and Uplift of the Constitution" organised by the All-India Professional Congress State unit here. Nath said the trial for criminal defamation was conducted in Gujarat over a statement made by Rahul in Karnataka four years ago.

He wanted to ask the lawyers present at the seminar whether the action taken was "bona fide or mala fide" (with good or bad intent).

Tharoor said Rahul, in his statement at the election rally in Karnataka, had named three-four people, and it did not convey the meaning that all people with the surname `Modi' were thieves.

"Both the interpretations of the statement should have been understood, and if at all any minimum punishment was to be awarded, he could have been given a warning that he should not repeat such action and the case should have been closed," he said.

But the court awarded Rahul a two-year jail term which was the maximum punishment for the offence and that was why he was disqualified as an MP and this was a very bad development, Tharoor said. The statement in question had been made at an election rally where a lot of things were said. "People say many things in an election speech. You all know what BJP has said about me or Kamal Nath during elections," he said.

People enjoy the cloudy weather at the banks of Upper Lake in Bhopal on Tuesday.