Modi surname slur haunts Rahul Gandhi; Congress scales intimidation barb against Modi govt
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, March 23: Congress on Thursday changed its profile picture on social media platforms with a photograph of Rahul Gandhi from his Srinagar leg of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ with tagline ‘Daro Mat (don’t be afraid)’. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gunned for immediate disqualification of Gandhi from the Lok Sabha after his conviction by a Surat Court on defamatory charges, Congress charged that the legality of the conviction is questionable, vowing that attempts to intimidate will be defeated.
Legal experts have opined that Gandhi cannot be disqualified, because the conviction and sentencing have been stayed by the Surat Court for a month. Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi charged that the Surat Court is flawed on various counts.
“Broadly there are five counts on which the Surat Court conviction fails the test of legality. There is no specific complainant who has been defamed by the sentence of Gandhi made in Kolar, Karnataka in 2019, which is a basic requirement. Also, CrPC 202 is also violated by the Surat Court of ignoring the jurisdictional issue as the statement was made in Kolar and the magistrate in Surat has taken cognizance,” said Singhvi.
Congress leader, while maintaining that the judgment is erroneous, alleged that there is a coordinated strategy on the part of the Narendra Modi government to silence the voices of Opposition. He also asserted that there should not be any move to disqualify the membership of Gandhi and at least two weeks’ time be given for curative steps to seek legal remedies. He also faulted the Surat Court for announcing the maximum sentence in 20-minute of hearing.
Gandhi was in Surat at the time of sentencing. He tweeted that his Dharma is of “satya and ahinsa”, borrowing from Mahatma Gandhi’s war cry against the British Rule.
Surat Court ruling has come at a time when the BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had moved a notice before Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to get Gandhi expelled from the lower House of Parliament for his remarks made in London on the Indian democracy. The second half of the Budget Session remains paralysed on the Treasury benches disrupting the proceedings of the two Houses of Parliament to press for the demand for apology from Gandhi for his remarks made in London.
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