Rahul Gandhi fires back: ‘Disqualify me for life… jail me… I’ll not stop asking Adani questions, I’m not afraid’

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters, Rahul said, “Democracy is finished in this country”. Flanked by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and party general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal, he said: “The people of the country cannot speak what is on their mind and the institutions are under attack. The mechanism of that attack is the relationship between Narendra Modi and Adani. That is the foundation.”

Clearly, Rahul is echoing his 2019 chowkidar-chor-hai line and blending it with his refrain on democratic backsliding that was a refrain in his speeches in the UK. The former didn’t have much of an echo then and how resonant will a refresh of that be is anybody’s guess. But in a pre-election year, he made it clear that his campaign against the Government — after the Bharat Jodo Yatra — rested on these two planks.

Indeed, he said it makes no difference to him whether he is disqualified from the Lok Sabha for some years, or permanently, and that he would not stop asking questions about the PM’s “relationship” with Adani.

“Disqualify me, disqualify me for life. Put me inside jail. I will keep going. I will not stop,” he said. He said he was disqualified because the “Prime Minister is scared of my next speech in Parliament… he is terrified. They don’t want that speech in Parliament.”

“Do I look worried to you?” Rahul retorted, when asked if he was anxious about the political relevance of the Opposition. “I am excited. I am happy that these people have given me the best gift they could give me,” he said, calling his disqualification the biggest ammunition for the Opposition.

“If you catch a thief, the first thing he says is ‘I didn’t do it’. The second thing he says is, ‘look there’… That is what the BJP is doing. We have caught Rs 20,000 crore going into Mr Adani’s companies. Nobody knows whose money that is. That money cannot be Mr Adani’s money… All this… claim of OBC bias, disqualification, anti-national is to distract from the panic that the Prime Minister is feeling… that his relationship with Mr Adani is going to be exposed,” he said.

Rahul said the allegation that his speech asking “why do all thieves have the name Modi”, which led to his conviction, insulted the OBC community, had no basis as in his Bharat Jodo Yatra, he had consistently talked of harmony among all communities.

Asked how he views the BJP’s demand for an apology for his comments abroad, he said: “My name is not Savarkar. My name is Gandhi and Gandhi never apologises to anyone. I said let me speak in Parliament…at least once allow me to speak. I wrote twice and met the Speaker personally urging him to let me speak…but he said I cannot do it. If he cannot, then who else will do it? Perhaps I will have to go and ask Modi…he will never allow me. So my point is democracy is finished in this country.”

Asked about the BJP’s response that his conviction was a decision of the court and followed “due process of law”, he said: “I respect India’s legal system. I will not talk about the legal system at this press conference.”

On Congress rivals speaking out against his disqualification and whether it was time for the Opposition to unite, Rahul said: “I thank all the Opposition parties who supported me on this issue. Hum sab milke kaam karenge (We will all work together).”

Rahul claimed things had been set in motion a few weeks ago, after his speech in Parliament on the Adani issue. He said the BJP “started its work” after that speech. “My speech was expunged. I wrote a letter to the Speaker with a detailed explanation on the defence industry, on the airports (projects awarded to Adani), with press clippings, supporting documents, legal documents, and said this is the supporting foundation of my speech… Nothing happened,” he said.

“My speech is not part of the records of Parliament today… After that, BJP ministers lied about me in Parliament. They made statements to distract from the Adani issue. The whole game… disqualification and all these statements are to distract from a central question: whose money is it, the Rs 20,000 crore? The whole thing is to distract. They said I have asked foreign forces to help India. The most ridiculous statement. I have never made such a statement, you can look at the conversations I had in the UK… In fact, I said this is India’s problem and India has to resolve this problem,” he said.

“A minister lies on the floor of the House. I wrote to the Speaker. I said it is my right as an MP, when somebody makes an accusation, to state my position. Let me state my position. The first letter is not answered. I then write a second letter with more details, taking the names and what was said. Still, no answer. I then went to the Speaker’s chamber, asked him what was going on, that ‘we live in a democracy, you are the defender of that democracy, why are you not letting me make my statement?’. The Speaker smiled and said, ‘I cannot do that, come and have a cup of coffee with me’,” Rahul said.

“I am here defending the democratic voice of the Indian people. I will continue to do that…I will continue to ask the question… what is the Prime Minister’s relationship with Mr Adani. It is an old relationship. It is a relationship that began when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Mr Adani constructed the idea of a resurgent Gujarat, organised all that,” he said.

When a reporter asked for his views on the BJP’s criticism that he had insulted the OBC community, Rahul accused the reporter of working for the BJP. “Why are you working for the BJP so directly… have you been given orders,” he said. “If you want to work for the BJP, then bring a BJP flag… symbol… and put it on your chest… then I will answer you in the same way that I answer them. Don’t pretend to be a ‘pressman’,” he said. And after a pause, as the next question was being asked, he added: “hawa nikal gayi (you are deflated).”