Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress on Friday staged a silent protest here against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi for the Lok Sabha membership, terming it as “vendetta politics” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Congress Jammu and Kashmir unit president Vikar Rasool Wani and a large number of Congress workers, wearing black bands and masks, protested outside the party headquarters at Shaheedi Chowk in Jammu, demanding action against their leader.
Vikar Rasool Wani said, “She fearlessly raised the voice of the common man, especially the poor, youth and women, and raised her voice against those who are looting taxpayers’ money.” State Congress President said that Rahul Gandhi is being punished for speaking the truth and raising the voice of the common man. Senior Congress leader G A Mir said Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha was a gross abuse of power by the Modi government as it could not fight him politically. GA Mir said, ‘ India has never seen such vindictive politics and dictatorial rule.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti said that Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha has confirmed her apprehensions expressed in London recently. Mehbooba Mufti tweeted, ‘Rahul Gandhi has been clearly bullied by the central government to emerge as a powerful challenger ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Since the BJP cannot fight him politically, he is now breaking institutions because he has refused to name Savarkar. The apprehensions he (Rahul Gandhi) expressed in London are sadly proving to be correct.
Commenting on Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) leader Mohd Yusuf Tarigami said the central government is trying to control all the institutions of the country for its own benefit. Tarigami told PTI, “I never thought that our country’s democracy would collapse.” For a long time, the government has been trying to take control of the Parliament and other institutions. National Conference (NC) spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said that today is not a good day for democracy. He said, “The speed with which the Lok Sabha Secretariat has declared Rahul Gandhi ineligible raises many questions.” The second point is that the defamation law under which this was done needs to be reviewed.
It may be noted that Rahul Gandhi, who represents the Wayanad parliamentary seat in Kerala, was on Friday disqualified from being a member of the Lok Sabha by a Surat court in view of his conviction in a defamation case. A notification issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat said that the order regarding his disqualification would be effective from March 23. A Surat court on Thursday sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years in prison in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his remarks on Modi’s surname. The court, however, also granted bail to Rahul and stayed his sentence for 30 days to enable him to challenge the verdict.
