Rahul Gandhi Disqualified: Congress on Friday hits out at Narendra Modi-led government over disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha, saying that the "government is finding new techniques to throttle his voice," news agency ANI reported.
Slamming PM Modi government, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi stated: "We all know that Rahul Gandhi has been speaking out fearlessly both inside and outside the Parliament. Clearly, he is paying a price for it. The government is rattled."
"We are confident that we will get a stay of the conviction which will remove the very basis of this disqualification. We have full faith in the law. We believe we will emerge victorious in the near future," he further stated.
Earlier today, terming the Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha as "black day for democarcy," Congress had stated that the move was driven by "political vendetta".
Gandhi was barred from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after a Surat court convicted him in a criminal defamation action for his "Modi surname" statement in 2019.
In a statement announcing his disqualification, the Lok Sabha Secretariat stated that it was effective from March 23, the day of his conviction.
"Shri Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency of Kerala stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 23 March, 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951," the Lok Sabha Secretariat said in a notification issued today.
In response to Gandhi's disqualification, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge stated that the BJP made every attempt to disqualify him because he was stating the truth.
"He has been removed from the House for speaking the truth, fighting for the Constitution and for people's rights," Kharge was quoted by PTI in its report.
In an apparent allussion to BJP chief J P Nadda's statements that Gandhi equated OBC groups to robbers, Kharge stated: "This was not a question of backward class, Lalit Modi and Nirav Modi are not of backward class. They are trying to build a perception that Rahul Gandhi spoke against backward class. Gandhi was putting forward the truth before the country so they were not liking it."
The BJP may believe that removing him from the Lok Sabha has addressed their problem, but Kharge claims that the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) would continue. Opposition leaders have called for a JPC investigation into the Adani case.
"We will keep fighting for protecting democracy and even if we have to go to jail, we will do so. Our people are ready to fight," Kharge said.
The Congress president stated that a meeting of top party officials will be held at 5 p.m. to decide on a future approach.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet, "We will fight this battle both legally and politically. We will not be intimidated or silenced. Instead of a JPC into the PM-linked Adani Maha Mega Scam, Rahul Gandhi stands disqualified. Indian Democracy Om Shanti."
K C Venugopal, the Congress general secretary in charge of the organisation, also slammed the government, saying that the day Gandhi raised questions about the Adani project against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP plotted a "conspiracy" to silence Gandhi's voice.
This is a clear case of anti-democratic, dictatorial attitude of the BJP government," Venugopal said in a video statement.