Congress holds nationwide protests over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as MP

On being asked about why isn't Congress going to court in the matter of Rahul Gandhi unlike Pawan Khera's case, Harish Rawat said, "If they (BJP) can conspire to end Rahul Gandhi's (LS) membership & make him vacate his house, then we're also making strategy where we'll do democratic struggle. We'll go to judiciary but we'll also go to people in every village".

You should see the plight of democracy in the country. We are doing a peaceful torchlight march. Yesterday we discussed this with the police and they agreed. Today, they stopped our workers everywhere, said Congress General Secretary, KC Venugopal at 'Mashal March' by Congress workers to protest against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as Lok Sabha member.

Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification is not a common thing. Since 8 years ED & CBI were trying to arrest him. Rahul Gandhi is fighting for truth. He may be shifted from the bungalow, but he propagates the ideology of Congress and no one can stop him, said Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

This (BJP) government doesn't want to listen to anything on the Adani scam. Today also, we demanded a JPC inquiry into this scam. If the government is not guilty, why is it running away from forming a JPC on this issue, said Congress leader KC Venugopal.

In a major development, Opposition parties may bring a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday. According to the sources, the proposal was kept in a meeting of Congress MPs. READ MORE

What Rahul Gandhi said is a historical fact. When historical facts cited as examples they don't change. Shri Veer Savarkar was respected as a freedom fighter by Congress and Indira Gandhi, said Harish Rawat on VD Savarkar's grandson to file FIR against Rahul Gandhi if there is no apology for his remark.

The BJP launched a fresh attack on Rahul Gandhi, saying the Congress leader's refusal to apologise to the OBC community for his "indecent" comments is yet another "manifestation" of the Gandhi family's political arrogance. BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani alleged that Gandhi was trying to "rip" apart the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But he will not succeed as the people of the country are with the prime minister, she asserted at a press conference. 

The Congress announced a protest march from Red Fort to Town Hall in old Delhi's Chandni Chowk against the disqualification of party leader Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha. Congress MPs will participate in the 'Loktantra Bachao Mashal Shanti March' starting from Red Fort at 7 pm, sources said.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the central government over a notice issued to Rahul Gandhi to vacate the official bungalow. "They will make all attempts to weaken him (Rahul Gandhi) but if he vacates the bungalow, he'll go live with his mother or he can come to me & I'll vacate one. I condemn the attitude of the government to scare, threaten & humiliate him. This isn't the way. Sometimes, we've been without a bungalow for 3-4 months. I received my bungalow after 6 months. People do this to humiliate others. I condemn such an attitude," he told ANI. 

Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani on Monday called the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as Lok Sabha MP an 'operation of the law,' demonstrating that no person was above law in the country. She also charged that Gandhi believed that he was above law after his disqualification from the Lok Sabha, following his conviction in a defamation case.

The grandson of late Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar has sought action against Rahul Gandhi for his comments and also challenged the Congress leader to show documents that prove he had apologised to the British. Gandhi's "My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone" remark has drawn fire from BJP.

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal took a swipe at the government over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi being asked to vacate his official bungalow, calling it "petty politics of petty men". "Rahul asked to vacate the bungalow. Their conscience has gone on a vacation. Petty politics of petty men," he tweeted. 

The Congress leaders and workers held protests across Telangana against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha. Scores of Congress activists held an agitation at Moosarambagh crossroads in Hyderabad, while District Congress Committee (DCC) president Nayini Rajender Reddy led a protest at Hanamkonda near Warangal, a party release said. 

The United States is watching the court case of Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, an official has said while observing that Washington continues to engage with India on the shared commitment towards democratic principles and the protection of human rights, including freedom of expression. Gandhi was on March 23 sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his "why all thieves have Modi surname" remark.