Rahul disqualification: Congress begins 'satyagraha' at Raj Ghat despite 144

Priyanka Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge are leading the party's day-long satyagraha protest in Delhi. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the principal opposition party in India, was disqualified from the Parliament following his conviction in the PM Modi surname defamation case.

New Delhi:The Congress party is holding massive protests across the country against the disqualification of former MP Rahul Gandhi from the Parliament. The top brass of the grand old party began a day-long Sankalp Satyagraha at the national capital's Rajghat regardless of the denial of permission from the police.

Senior Congress leaders like Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge are leading the protest against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification in the national capital.

Despite Section 144 imposed by the police, Congress Raj Ghat protest continued and Party General Secretary K.C. Venugopal tweeted that it has become a habit for the Modi government to disallow every opposition protest. Even after silencing their voice in Parliament, the government has refused to let them hold a peaceful Satyagraha at Bapu's Samadhi (Rajghat), he said adding that the step will not deter the grand old party from fighting for truth and against tyranny.

The Congress has cried foul over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification saying that it is part of the controversy by the Narendra Modi government to distract the country's attention from the Adani issue that the opposition is pressing in the Parliament as well as outside. On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi, in his maiden press conference after his disqualification said that he won't back down come what may. The disqualification won't have any bearing on his 'tapasya' (spiritual practice) and he will continue to ask questions to the government.

In the press conference, Mr Gandhi also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relationship with business tycoon Gautam Adani, something which he had been alleging ever since the Hindenburg report on Adani came into the limelight. He also raised questions on Adani's alleged involvement in shell companies and the Rs 20,000 crore invested in them.

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday. This was only a day after he was pronounced guilty by a Surat court in a defamation case. This was about a speech Mr Gandhi had given way back in 2019 in Karnataka's Kolar where he was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a 'thief', by drawing references to the surnames of fugitives Lalit Modi and Nirav Modi. Though Gandhi said that it was only a political satire, the BJP alleged that through his speech Gandhi was insulting the Modi community in Gujarat.

The Surat court, however, has granted him bail and has suspended his two-year jail term, allowing him 30 days to appeal to a higher court. The former Wayanad MP now stands disqualified for eight years.