New Delhi: Congress on Friday said Rahul Gandhi is not scared and he will continue to expose the lies of BJP. Party spokesperson and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi made the remarks during a press conference on Gujarat High Court's verdict on Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking relief from conviction in the Modi surname case. "The Congress trusts the judicial system. We believe the arrogant power will get a befitting reply," he said.
The Gujarat High Court upheld the Sessions Court's order on Friday, denying a stay on the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case related to his "Modi surname" remark. As a result, Rahul Gandhi will be unable to contest elections or seek the revocation of his suspended status as a Member of Parliament (MP). The Gujarat High Court deemed the Trial Court's conviction order appropriate and saw no need for interference, thus dismissing the application. The Court also noted that Rahul Gandhi faces at least 10 pending criminal cases.
Terming the verdict “disappointing but not unexpected”, Singhvi said the law of defamation has been misused. He further said since the complainants are associated with the BJP, it is clear that this has been done “with a feeling of malice”.
“There is an attempt to strangle democracy through vendetta politics,” he said, adding, “There is faith in the Supreme Court, but the highest court is the people's court. We will tell the Supreme Court how the petitioner first stayed the hearing in the lower court and then suddenly the stay was removed and the hearing took place quickly.”
Reacting to the Gujarat HC rejecting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that one cannot use freedom of speech to abuse. He also called Rahul Gandhi a history sheeter. BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, the petitioner in the case hailed the judgment and said all should respect the court's order.
"Some people think that freedom of speech is freedom to abuse. So the courts are doing their job and action is being taken under the purview of the law," Naqvi said while talking to ABP News.
Priyanka Gandhi tweeted a long post in Hindi over the Gujarat HC verdict taking an indirect jibe at the Centre. She said, "Arrogant power wants that questions of public interest should not be raised, arrogant power wants that questions that improve the lives of the people of the country should not be raised, arrogant power wants that they should not be asked questions on inflation, nothing on employment of youth There should be no voice for the welfare of the farmers, there should be no talk of the rights of women, the question of honor of the laborers should not be raised."
"...But, in front of truth, satyagraha, the power of the people, neither the arrogance of power will last long nor the veil of lies over the truth. Rahul Gandhi ji has lit the light of questions related to the interests of the public in front of this arrogant power," she added.