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Opposition parties across the country rallied behind Rahul Gandhi on Friday as he was disqualified as a Member of Parliament following his conviction in a defamation case. From senior Congress leaders to chief ministers of Opposition-ruled states, everyone hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led Central government over the move.
Hours after the disqualification, senior leader Abhishek Singhvi said that the move was nothing but political vendetta on part of the BJP and that the Congress is planning to get a stay on his conviction so as to remove the basis of the disqualification.
“We all know that Rahul Gandhi has been speaking out fearlessly both inside and outside the Parliament. Clearly, he is paying a price for it. The government is rattled. This government is finding new techniques to throttle his voice,” he said.
While Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that if needed, the party will go to jail to save the country, fellow MP Shashi Tharoor said that the move to disqualify Rahul bodes ill for our democracy.
“They (BJP) tried all ways to disqualify him. They don’t want to keep those who are speaking the truth, but we will continue to do so. We’ll continue our demand for a JPC. If needed, we’ll go to jail to save democracy,” Kharge said outside the Parliament.
“I’m stunned by this action and by its rapidity, within 24 hours of the court verdict and while an appeal was known to be in process. This is politics with the gloves off and it bodes ill for our democracy,” Tharoor tweeted.
Jairam Ramesh, too, took to Twitter to put out his statement. “We will fight this 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,” he said.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, too, raised questions over the hasty nature of the disqualification. “Judgment on 23 March, disqualification on 24 March. The speed with which the system moved is astonishing. No time is spent on reflection, understanding or allowing time for legal review. Obviously, there are no voices of moderation in the BJP party or government. The net result is parliamentary democracy has suffered another cruel blow,” he said.
Congress MP KC Venugopal saw the move as a conspiracy to stop Rahul Gandhi’s fight for truth. “The day Rahul Gandhi raised questions against Adani and PM Modi, this conspiracy was started to silence him. It’s a clear case of anti-democratic, dictatorship attitude of the BJP govt,” he said.
The Trinamool Congress, too, rallied its support behind Rahul Gandhi. “In PM Modi’s New India, Opposition leaders have become the prime target of BJP. While BJP leaders with criminal antecedents are inducted into the Cabinet, Opposition leaders are disqualified for their speeches. Today, we have witnessed a new low for our constitutional democracy,” TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
TMC Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien said: “The BJP is desperate to silence the voice of the opposition. We know they are desperate. We know they want to silence the voice. We know they would go to all kinds of lows. But this is the low of the low – the lowest since 1950. Terrible. The lowest in Parliamentary democracy…in the history of Parliamentary democracy. BJP, how low can you go? Mr Modi and Mr Shah…BJP… shame on you. Shame.”
Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as an MP, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the Prime Minister was scared of voices against his government. “Rahul ko arrest kar liya hai, Rahul ko dismiss kar diya hai sadan se. Itna dara hua Pradhan Mantri aaj tak Azad Bharat ne nahi dekha. (They convicted Rahul and then dismissed him from the Parliament. I have never seen a Prime Minister who is so scared of Opposition forces).”
RJD MP Manoj K Jha said the decision was “shameful and unfortunate”. “I believe this is the biggest black blot in the history of Parliamentary democracy. The intensity with which this decision was taken… based on baseless facts and arguments. What Rahul Gandhi had said in Cambridge that democracy is in crisis… you have proved it right… you have no respect for democracy. I think all the parties…along with the civil society and people.. will have to decide to come together to defeat this dictatorial mindset..otherwise the damage that is being done to democracy…will not be able to repair….It is not just about Rahul Gandhi… it is the official declaration of the death of democracy,” Jha said.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who has been at loggerheads with the BJP, said that the move to disqualify Rahul Gandhi was “killing democracy”. “Calling a thief, a thief has become a crime in our country. Thieves are still free and Rahul Gandhi was punished. This is murder of democracy. All govt systems are under pressure,” Uddhav said.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) faction leader Priyanka Chaturvedi called it a “vindictive and shameful action.” “This disqualification yet again proves that we are living in the times of caged democracy,” she added.
In a tweet, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said, “It’s condemnable that the BJP is now using the criminal defamation route to target opposition leaders and disqualify them as done with @RahulGandhi now. This comes on top of the gross misuse of ED/CBI against the opposition. Resist and defeat such authoritarian assaults.”
NCP chief Sharad Pawar, while reacting to the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as an MP, said: “The disqualification has dented Indian democracy. It’s high time all like-minded parties unite in solidarity to fight for rights of democracy and Indian Constitution.”
Bharat Rashtra Samithi president and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the move was the “zenith of Narendra Modi’s arrogance and dictatorial attitude”. “Today is a black day in the history of democracy in India, he said, adding that all those who want democracy to flourish should condemn the NDA government’s misdeeds.” He alleged that it was “blameworthy” that the Modi government was not only misusing constitutional institutions but was also using Parliament, the apex platform for democracy, for its “despicable actions”.
Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin said, “I strongly condemn the fascist action of disqualifying the young leader of India, Rahul Gandhi, from the post of Member of Parliament. This intimidating tone of action appears to send a message across that even the leader of the national political party and MP does not have the democratic right to express his opinion. An appeal is a fundamental right of anyone who is convicted and the judge had pointed this out in his judgment and gave 30 days’ time for the Congress leader to respond.”
In a tweet, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav said, “The political challenge does not end with the hijacking of the membership of Parliament. The biggest movement is not the Parliament; We have won by fighting on the street. The person who has claimed defamation should actually do this on those people who betrayed their country and fled abroad, due to which their name and fame have been harmed.
Defending Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification, Union Minister of State for Law and Justice S P S Baghel termed it as “lawful” and asserted that “everyone is equal before law”.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur, too, hit out at the Congress leader, saying he has a habit of going far from the truth in Parliament. “Rahul Gandhi is on bail in a corruption case related to National Herald… He has a habit of going far from the truth in the Parliament… I think Rahul Gandhi believes he’s above Parliament, law, country and that he is privileged and the Gandhi family can do anything,” he said.
