'My Name Is Not Savarkar': Rahul On Not Apologising For London Remarks Day After Expulsion

Rahul Gandhi held his first press conference after being disqualified from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case. He responded to the BJP's demands for his apology over London remarks.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said he won't apologise for his remarks on Indian democracy in his recent London visits. He remarked, "My name is not Savarkar, it is Gandhi and Gandhi never offers apology".

The comment comes as the BJP has demanded that Rahul Gandhi apologise for his remarks during his London visit as he claimed that the structures of Indian democracy are under “brutal attack” and that there is a full-scale assault on the institutions of the country. He had alleged that microphones in the Lok Sabha were often "silenced" against the Opposition. 

Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal, and Giriraj Singh were among the senior BJP MPs who criticised Rahul Gandhi's recent remarks. Before his disqualification from Lok Sabha, BJP parliamentarians demanded that the then Wayanad MP apologise in Parliament. They also asked that the House speaker take action against him.

"Our mikes are not out of order, they are functioning, but you still can't switch them on. That's happened to me a number of times while I am speaking," the former Congress chief had told the UK MPs while addressing a group of UK MPs in the Grand Committee Room within the House of Commons.

My Job Is To Defend The Democratic Nature Of The Country: Rahul Gandhi

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, the former Wayanad MP said: "My job is to defend the democratic nature of the country which means defending the institutions of the country, defending the voice of the poor people of the country, and telling people the truth about people like Adani who are exploiting the relationship they have with the PM."

Rahul Gandhi held his first press conference after being disqualified by the Lok Sabha secretariat following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case.

He was disqualified as a Member of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction in the criminal defamation case over his 'Modi surname' remark i.e. March 23. The Lok Sabha Secretariat issued a notification on Friday in this regard.

"Consequent upon his conviction by the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Surat in C.C./18712/2019, 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 notification by the Lok Sabha Secretariat reads.

The Congress Party reacted to the development saying that it will fight the battle "both legally and politically."

"We will not be intimidated or silenced. Instead of a JPC into the PM-linked Adani MahaMegaScam, @RahulGandhi stands disqualified. Indian Democracy Om Shanti," the party's General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh wrote on Twitter.

A court in Surat on Thursday sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in the case filed against him over his "Modi surname" remarks. The court also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.

The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate H H Varma held 52-year-old Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500.