Following Rahul Gandhi’s exclusion from the Lok Sabha, the Congress has chosen to appeal his conviction in the ‘Modi surname’ defamation case. According to reports, the party will most likely approach the Sessions Court in Surat next week, on either Monday or Tuesday, in relation to the defamation case in which the former party president has been convicted.
The verdict convicting Rahul Gandhi and sentencing him to two years in jail was delivered by the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate of the Surat Civil court, and the Surat District and Sessions court is the next court in the hierarchy, located in the same court complex.
In order to challenge the Surat Civil Court’s decision to convict the Gandhi scion for his ‘Modi surname’ statement, the party would follow the proper procedure and file a case in the Sessions Court. Notably, Rahul Gandhi was removed from the Lok Sabha on Friday after the Surat court’s ruling.
After the decision was pronounced, Jairam Ramesh, general secretary of Congress, declared that the party will fight ‘both legally and politically.’
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. pic.twitter.com/d8GmZjUqd5
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 24, 2023
Congress to launch protests across the country
The Congress on Friday called for strengthening the opposition unity in a systematic way and organised nationwide protests against Rahul Gandhi’s exclusion from the Lok Sabha. The party claimed that the government rushed swiftly to ‘gag’ their leader.
Senior Congress leaders, including former All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief Sonia Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K. C. Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Rajiv Shukla and Tariq Anwar, and senior leaders P. Chidambaram, Anand Sharma, Ambika Soni, Mukul Wasnik, Salman Khurshid and Pawan Kumar Bansal among others attended the meeting where the party decided to take this forward into a ‘Jan Andolan.’
#WATCH | Congress leaders meet at AICC in Delhi over Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as MP and the party’s demand for JPC probe on the Adani issue pic.twitter.com/0XSy2JlPTm
— ANI (@ANI) March 24, 2023
Jairam Ramesh stated, “We will go all over the country as Rahul Gandhi was deliberately disqualified for raising his voice against the Modi government on the Adani issue, on the government’s foreign policy and the clean chit given to China for incursions at the border.” Ramesh alleged, that the BJP was rattled by the success of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra,’ which, he claimed, became a movement.
LIVE: Press briefing by Shri @Jairam_Ramesh at AICC HQ. https://t.co/VnbDlMJ9cj
— Congress (@INCIndia) March 24, 2023
He underlined that “we should now take the topic of opposition unity forward in a systematic fashion,” adding that the Congress leadership has welcomed the statements of support from the opposition leaders. “The action taken unilaterally and hastily to disqualify Rahul Gandhi,” he continued, “was criticised by several opposition parties.”
“Yes, there was a consensus that we should now take the job of building opposition unity in a systematic way. Everyday Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has been meeting floor leaders of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. So we are coordinating in Parliament and now coordination has to be outside Parliament,” the Gandhi loyalist mentioned.
He conveyed, “It is also heartening to note that parties which were not part of this floor coordination have now issued public statements condemning this action of disqualification of Rahul Gandhi.”
The country-wide agitation will start on Monday, and state units and frontal organisations of the Congress will implement their national programmes.
“We will go all over the country saying that Rahul Gandhi has been deliberately disqualified as he has been raising his voice against the Modi government on various issues, including demonetisation, GST, foreign policy, and the government’s intentions and policies,” he informed.
“Nine days after Gandhi’s Adani address in the Lok Sabha on February 7, the complainant expedited his defamation lawsuit against him, and on February 16, he withdrew his own stay in the high court,” the Congress stalwart urged people to ‘understand the chronology.’
He explained that the judgement was reserved on March 17, the arguments were resumed on February 27 after a year, and the decision was announced on March 23. “This is no coincidence,” he remarked.
He also tweeted, ‘Mother is weeping today at the murder of democracy in India.’
The Prime Minister is using G20 to proclaim to the world that India is the Mother of Democracy. That Mother is weeping today at the Murder of Democracy in India.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 24, 2023
Hours after Rahul Gandhi was disqualified on Friday, prominent party leader and lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi voiced optimism about obtaining a stay over the former’s conviction. “We are confident that we will get a stay of the conviction which will remove the very basis of this disqualification. We have full faith in the law. We believe we will emerge victorious in the near future,” he proclaimed.
Many opposition leaders including the Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and his counterpart in West Bengal and All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamta Banerjee came in support of Rahul Gandhi after the latter’s disqualification from Lok Sabha.
