Rahul’s disqualification against Constitution, murder of democracy, says Oppn in House

NCP chief Sharad Pawar referred to the disqualification of party MP from Lakshadweep, Mohammed Faizal P P, following his conviction in an attempted murder case. Faizal’s conviction was later suspended by the Kerala High Court.

“The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi and Faizal a few months ago as MPs of the Lok Sabha are against the basic tenets of the constitution, where democratic values are being curtailed. This is condemnable and against the very principles on which the constitution is based,” Pawar tweeted.

“Our Constitution guarantees the right of each individual to fair justice, liberty of thought, equality of status and opportunity and fraternity, assuring the dignity of each Indian. #RahulGandhi,” he further said in a series of tweets. “We all need to stand together to defend our democratic institutions,” he added.

In a statement, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray said, “Rahul Gandhi has been finally disqualified. Calling a thief a thief has become a crime in our country. Thieves are still free but Rahul Gandhi has been punished. This is a murder of democracy. All government systems are under pressure… This is the beginning of dictatorship… now, we will have to give a right direction to the fight against it.”

Uddhav’s son and MLA Aaditya tweeted, “Every high-handed step is evident that we are rapidly moving towards a planned end to democracy and constitutional ideals of our country. This is not only about one disqualification or Rahul Gandhi. This is about all of us as citizens, and whether we can say that democracy is alive.”

Minutes after Gandhi was disqualified, Opposition leaders walked out of the state Assembly. State Congress president Nana Patole said outside Vidhan Bhavan, “We are going towards an autocratic system. Our leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified as Lok Sabha MP. This is an unfortunate incident. This is against democracy. We condemn the disqualification.”

He added that Congress will hit the streets against the disqualification. “He (Gandhi) spoke about Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, which are facts. Fugitives like Nirav Modi and many others who siphoned thousands of crores from banks are not arrested and brought back to the country. What’s wrong with what Rahul Gandhi said? What he said was twisted and now he has been disqualified. This is how democracy is compromised. The disqualification is a sin that this government has done.”

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi president Prakash Ambedkar said BJP displayed undue haste in disqualifying Gandhi. “As per the Surat court order, Gandhi had the right to appeal in a higher court. Had Gandhi’s appeal been upheld or rejected, then the question of exercising powers to disqualify could have been considered. However, BJP has not allowed any process to be completed. It took a hasty decision to disqualify Gandhi,” he added.