'A black day for Indian democracy', says Congress on Rahul Gandhi's LS disqualification

The Congress on Friday termed partys senior leader Rahul Gandhis disqualification from Lok Sabha as a black day for Indian democracy and said the action was driven by political vendettaGandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha on Friday with aLok Sabha Secretariat notification a day after he was convicted by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remarkCongress president Mallikarjun Kharge while reacting to Gandhis disqualification said the BJP made all efforts to get him disqualified as he was speaking the truth He has been removed from the House for speaking the truth fighting for the Constitution and for peoples rights Kharge allegedThis was not a question of backward class Lalit Modi and Nirav Modi are not of backward class They are trying to build a perception that Rahul Gandhi spoke against backward class Gandhi was putting forward the truth before the country so they were not liking it he said in an apparent reference to BJP chief J P Naddas remarks that Gandhi had compared OBC communities to thievesThe BJP would be thinking that their problem is solved by ousting him from Lok Sabha but it is not so as the demand for Joint Parliamentary Committee JPC would continue to be raised he said Opposition leaders have been demanding a JPC probe into the Adani issueAlso read Rahul Gandhi disqualified from Lok Sabha after conviction in defamation caseWe will keep fighting for protecting democracy and even if we have to go to jail we will do so Our people are ready to fight Kharge saidThe Congress president said there will be a meeting of senior party leaders at 5 pm and a strategy going forward will be decided uponCongress general secretary incharge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet We will fight this battle both legally and politically We will not be intimidated or silenced Instead of a JPC into the PMlinked Adani Maha Mega Scam Rahul Gandhi stands disqualified Indian Democracy Om ShantiCongress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury hit out at the government over Gandhis disqualification saying the country is witnessing politics of vendetta spearheaded by the Modi governmentIt is a sheer case of retributive politics because Rahul Gandhi has been gaining popularity in the wake of the Bharat Jodo Yatra which could not be digested by the Modi government The government and the BJP believe that Gandhi has to be muzzled because if he is allowed to speak in Parliament they will be dislodged from government he saidChowdhury termed the disqualification as a cruel step of an autocratic government and alleged that democracy cannot survive under the present dispensationCongress general secretary incharge organisation K C Venugopal also lashed out at the government and said the day Gandhi raised questions about the Adani issue against Prime Minister Narendra Modi the BJP planned a conspiracy to silence the voice of Gandhi This is a clear case of antidemocratic dictatorial attitude of the BJP government Venugopal said in a video statementIn a tweet later he said Rahul Gandhi jis disqualification is the final nail in the coffin This is a black day for Indian democracy It is a wellorchestrated move of the Modi government to silence his voice in Parliament We will fight this legally and politically on every front the truth will prevailSenior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said he was stunned by the action against Gandhi and by its rapidity This is politics with the gloves off and it bodes ill for our democracy Tharoor said in a tweetIn a tweet in Hindi the Congress said Rahul Gandhis Lok Sabha membership has been terminated He is constantly fighting for you and this country from the road to the Parliament trying everything possible to save democracyDespite every conspiracy he will continue this fight at all costs and will take action as per law in this matter The fight continues the party said With inputs from PTI