The disqualification of Congress Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha has stirred a political row with the spat between the grand old party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Assam Minister Atul Bora on Saturday said that the move is the result of Rahul Gandhi’s “political immaturity”. “This move is the result of his (Rahul Gandhi’s) political immaturity. Rahul Gandhi should know how to behave with his own PM. I saw that Congress party workers are protesting across the nation,” Atul Bora said.
Rahul Gandhi on Friday was disqualified from the Lok Sabha a day after being sentenced to two years in jail in a defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark in 2019.
The notification came hours after Gandhi came to the Lok Sabha on Friday morning.
Gandhi accused the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being “scared” of his allegations on the Adani issue and said he was defending the democratic voice of the people and will continue to do so.
The BJP hit back at him with Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur stating that the central government and Lok Sabha have no role to play in his disqualification and that Rahul Gandhi “is a case of political immaturity”.
Thakur said as per the apex court judgement, disqualification is automatically effective from the date of conviction, Constitution expressly prohibits Parliament to defer the date of disqualification and the Lok Sabha is bound by the Representation of People’s Act and SC judgment on membership termination order.
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad also slammed Rahul Gandhi saying his utterances on Modi’s surname “were abusive, not critical and that the BJP is going launch a stir against his insult to OBCs.”
Gandhi was convicted by a Gujarat court over his Modi surname remark made during an election rally in Karnataka in 2019.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here on Saturday, Gandhi said that the BJP allegations against him, and his disqualification were aimed at distracting from “the panic that Prime Minister is feeling”.
Stating that he was not scared of threats, disqualification and prison sentences, Rahul Gandhi said that he will not “back down” from asking questions on the Adani issue.
“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,” he said.
“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. I will keep asking questions about Adani’s issue, they cannot scare me by disqualification or putting me in jail. I won’t back down,” he added.