Raising the pitch against the BJP over Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from Lok Sabha, Congress leaders and workers held protests across the country on Sunday, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accusing the government of “trying to silence” a “martyr’s son” for raising the voice of people.
Countering the BJP’s charge that Rahul Gandhi insulted OBCs with his remark for which he has been convicted in a criminal defamation case, Priyanka Gandhi asked how a leader whose family has “given its blood to nurture democracy” and who has walked thousands of kilometres from Kanyakumari to Kashmir with a message of unity could insult the country or a certain community.
“We have remained silent but not anymore,” she said alleging that the prime minister and other BJP leaders have repeatedly insulted her family members but no cases were filed against them.
The BJP, however, slammed the Congress and asked if it was agitating against the country’s Constitution or the law under which Rahul Gandhi was convicted or to justify his remarks against the entire backward community of the country.
With several other parties condemning the action against Rahul Gandhi, top Congress leaders Ashok Gehlot and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the issue had brought the Opposition together and this unity would grow as days go by.
Kharge, who led the “Sankalp Satyagraha” protest outside Delhi’s Raj Ghat after the police refused permission to hold it at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial, asked why the BJP was feeling hurt if fugitives Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi were being criticised.
“They talk of OBC now, is Lalit Modi OBC, is Nirav Modi OBC, is Mehul Choksi OBC, they ran away with people’s money. If they are fugitives why are you pained if they are criticised?
“You (BJP) punish the person who works to save the country and send those abroad who loot the country,” Kharge said.
Congress workers in many states and union territories like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat took part in the protests.
Meanwhile, Gandhi changed his bio on Twitter where he described himself as a “‘Dis’Qualified MP”. He also wrote “’ Dis’Qualified MP” on his official Wayanad Twitter account.
