'Calling A Thief, A Thief Has Become A Crime Now': Uddhav Thackeray On Rahul's Disqualification

Uddhav Thackeray stated that "calling a thief, a thief has become a crime in the country." He also said that thieves and looters are still at large and that the Wayanad MP is being punished.

In response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's disqualification, former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Friday that "calling a thief, a thief has become a crime in the country." He further said that thieves and looters are still free and that the Wayanad MP is being punished. He called the action a "direct murder of democracy." 

The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief lashed out at the ruling party (Bhartiya Janata Party), claiming that all government systems are under pressure. "This is the beginning of the end of the dictatorship; all that remains is to direct the fight," he was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI. 

Rahul Gandhi's Disqualification: 

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after a Surat court convicted him in a criminal defamation case in 2019.

In a notification announcing his disqualification, the Lok Sabha Secretariat stated that it was effective from March 23, the day of his conviction.

"As a result of his conviction by the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Surat...Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency of Kerala, stands disqualified from Lok Sabha membership from the date of his conviction, i.e. 23 March 2023," the notification read.

On Thursday, a Surat court sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years in prison in a defamation case filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi for his alleged remark, "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" Rahul Gandhi would be unable to run for office for the next eight years unless a higher court overturned his conviction and sentence.

In response to Gandhi's disqualification, Congress stated that it will fight the case "legally and politically."