New Delhi: In a survey conducted by ABP News in the light of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in a defamation case and his disqualification as a member of the Lok Sabha, 43 per cent people believe that the punishment meted out to Gandhi is right, while 31 per cent said that although his remarks on ‘Modi surname’ was wrong, he shouldn’t have been disqualified from the Lok Sabha.
The survey ‘Desh Ka Mood’ was conducted on 10,000 people after Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as an MP. This came a day after a court in Surat convicted the Congress leader in a four-year old defamation case and sentenced him to two years in jail. However, the court has given him 30 days to appeal in any higher court.
In the ABP News survey, 22 per cent people said they did not agree with the quantum of punishment and believe the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was doing politics over the issue, while 4 per cent said they did not have any opinion on the topic.
Asked if the central agencies such as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) were being misused by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government against the Opposition parties, 20 per cent completely agreed, 29 per cent appeared to ‘somewhat agree’, 47 per cent of the people disagreed, while 4 per cent refused to comment.
Notably, in his first press conference after being disqualified as a Lok Sabha member, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said he does not care if he is permanently disqualified and that he would continue to fight for India’s democracy.
"My speech in Parliament was expunged, and later I wrote a detailed reply to the Lok Sabha Speaker. Some ministers lied about me, that I sought help from foreign powers. But there is no such thing I have done. I will not stop asking questions, I will keep questioning the relationship between PM Modi and Adani,” Rahul Gandhi said.
“I am not scared of these threats, disqualifications or prison sentences… I am not interested in anything but the truth. I only speak the truth, it is my work and I will keep doing it even if I get disqualified or get arrested. The Prime Minister is scared of my next speech on Adani, and I have seen it in his eyes. That is why, first the distraction and then the disqualification,” the Congress leader added.