Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that the BJP can snatch everything away from him, but he will not stop representing the people of Wayanad nor will he be intimidated. "Since my questions on Adani made the government uncomfortable, I was removed from Parliament. The BJP can take away the tag of MP, the post, and my house. BJP can jail me, but can't stop me representing people of Wayanad," Rahul Gandhi said. "I am surprised BJP has not understood that they cannot intimidate their opponent. They think I will get scared by sending police to my house, or that I will be disturbed if my house is taken away. We are not intimidated," he added.
Rahul Gandhi was addressing the people of Wayanad after a roadshow called 'Satyameva Jayate' in Kalpetta in Kerala. This was the first visit to his former constituency after being disqualified as Lok Sabha MP. Rahul was accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi and a host of other senior Congress leaders as the Grand Old Party held a show of strength in Wayanad.
Last month, Rahul Gandhi was convicted for his statements during the Congress' election campaign in Kolar in 2019. A Gujarat municipal court sentenced him to two years in prison. This conviction came after MLA Purnesh Modi's complaint, where he accused Rahul Gandhi of humiliating the entire Modi community with his remarks in Kolar.
The court convicted Rahul Gandhi under Section 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for "intentionally insulting with the intent to cause a disturbance of peace". Subsequently, he was stripped of his Lok Sabha membership and was asked to vacate his government Bungalow.
Unless his sentence is overturned by a higher court, the Congress leader will be ineligible to vote for the next eight years.
Speaking at the public meeting in Wayanad, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi said: "Rahul Gandhi was disqualified for asking a question that they (BJP) could not answer. The whole government is trying to defend Gautam Adani. The PM is defending Adani. The BJP is turning our democracy on its head. The PM is changing his dressing style every day, but there is no change in the lifestyle of common people. They are struggling for jobs." She also said that Rahul Gandhi was an honest man who had not done anything wrong.