Rahul Gandhi's First Speech Post Disqualification: Refuses to Apologize, Claims Gandhi Name; BJP Responds with Press Address
On March 19, 2021, Rahul Gandhi, former president of the Indian National Congress (INC), was disqualified from the Lok Sabha, the Lower House of the Indian Parliament, after he was convicted in a criminal defamation case. Rahul Gandhi, who represents the Wayanad parliamentary constituency in Kerala, was disqualified under Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People's Act.
Gandhi had made a remark about the "Modi surname" during an election campaign in 2019, which led to a complaint by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi. On March 18, 2021, Gandhi was sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court in the defamation case.
The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha triggered a nationwide protest by the Indian National Congress against the ruling government. The Congress alleged that Rahul Gandhi was targeted for questioning the alleged relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani.
Addressing the media for the first time after his disqualification, Rahul Gandhi said, "My speech made 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."
The Congress leadership, including former AICC chief Sonia Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Rajiv Shukla, and Tariq Anwar, decided to take forward the issue into a "Jan Andolan". The Congress subsequently announced nationwide protests and programmes across the country against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The BJP was rattled by the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which, he said, became a movement. The Congress leadership also welcomed the statements of support of all opposition leaders, he said, and asserted that 'we should now take the issue of opposition unity forward in a systematic way'."
Reacting to the Congress' allegations, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that Rahul Gandhi was the "epitome of unparliamentary behaviour" and that the people of Wayanad, Gandhi's constituency, had got rid of him. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, "As per the law, conviction leads to disqualification from parliament membership. Congress party, especially Rahul's family, wants a separate IPC for him. Under this IPC, he shouldn't be convicted. They want a separate judiciary for him. However, they fail to understand that in a democracy the law is equal for all."
The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha sparked a political storm in India, with a range of reactions from political leaders and commentators alike. Some saw it as an attempt by the BJP to silence the opposition while others saw it as a welcome sign of accountability. The issue of opposition unity in India also gained traction, with several opposition parties expressing their support for Rahul Gandhi and condemning his disqualification from Lok Sabha. The matter is likely to continue to be a topic of hot debate in Indian politics in the coming weeks and months.
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