4 min readNew DelhiMar 26, 2023 07:46 AM IST
First published on: Mar 25, 2023 at 03:22 PM IST
In his first press conference after being disqualified from Lok Sabha, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi refused to apologise for his “Modi surname” remark and said he will not “back down” from asking questions on the Adani issue.
Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha yesterday after a Surat court convicted him over his remark at a public rally in Karnataka in 2019, wherein he had said “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname.”
Reacting to the Lok Sabha Secretariat’s notification regarding his disqualification, Gandhi, in a Twitter post in Hindi, said, “Mein Bharat ki awaz ke liye ladh raha hoon. Mein har keemat chukane ko taiyyar hoon (I am fighting for the voice of India and I am ready to pay any price for it).”
The ‘ex-Wayanad MP’ will be barred from contesting elections for eight years unless his conviction is stayed by a higher court.
Here are the top quotes from Rahul Gandhi’s presser today:
📌 “This is the whole drama that is been orchestrated to defend the Prime Minister from the simple question — Who’s Rs 20,000 crore went to Adani’s shell companies? I am not scared of these threats, disqualifications or prison sentences.”
📌 “I will keep asking questions on Adani issue, they cannot scare me by disqualification or putting me in jail. I won’t back down.”
📌 When asked if he will apologise for his “Modi surname” remark in 2019, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “My name is not Savarkar, it is Gandhi and Gandhi never offers apology”.
📌 “Even if they disqualify me permanently, I will keep doing my work. it does not matter if I am inside the Parliament or not. I will keep fighting for the country,” he said.
📌 “For this government, country is Adani and Adani is country”
📌 “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.”
📌 “I am not interested in anything but the truth. I only speak the truth, it is my work and I will keep doing it even if I get disqualified or get arrested. This country has given me everything and that is why I do this.”
📌 “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”.
📌 “On BJP’s charge that he insulted OBCs, he said, “I have always talked about brotherhood, this is not about OBCs.”
📌 “I was disqualified because PM Narendra Modi is scared of my next speech on Adani… I can see it in his eyes”.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during a press conference at the AICC office in New Delhi on Saturday. (Express Photo by Prem Nath Pandey) 
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