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'Disqualify Me for Life, I Will Continue to Fight for Country': Rahul Gandhi

16:44, 25 March 2023

Rahul Trivedi

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The Congress Party politician was found guilty of criminal defamation by Surat district court and sentenced to two years' imprisonment for a remark he made in 2019 implying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a criminal - an allegation he made while on the campaign trail in Karnataka.

Sputnik

Former Congress chief and leading opposition figure Rahul Gandhi on Saturday set his sights on the federally ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi because of his disqualification as a Member of Parliament (MP).

While addressing the press for the first time since he was disqualified as a parliamentarian, Gandhi said: “The whole drama has been orchestrated to defend the Prime Minister from the simple questions over whose 20Bln rupees ($243Mln) went to Adani’s shell companies and what is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's connection to Adani?”

The politician started his press conference by saying that he has often said that democracy in the country has been damaged and he is not scared by threats, disqualifications or prison sentences and will continue to ask questions and fight for democracy in India.

"The speech I made in Parliament was expunged, and later I wrote a detailed reply to the Lok Sabha [Lower House] Speaker. Some ministers lied about me, saying that I sought help from foreign powers. But I have done no such thing. I will not stop asking questions, I will keep questioning the relationship between PM Modi and Adani," Gandhi said.

Stating that the country has given him everything, the former parliamentarian from Wayanad in Kerala said that he is not interested in anything but the truth.

The Congress politician even lashed out at Modi as he said: "The Prime Minister is scared of my next speech about Adani, and I have seen it in his eyes. That is why, first the distraction and then the disqualification."

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While speaking about the legal issues, he said that the opposition will profit the most from the government’s panic.

"Even if they disqualify me permanently, I will keep doing my work. it does not matter whether I am inside Parliament or not. I will keep fighting for the country," he added.

Gandhi rejected the BJP’s demand for an apology because of the remarks he made in London about democracy in India.

The former Congress chief was formally disqualified as a parliamentarian from 23 March after a local court in Surat found him guilty of criminal defamation on Thursday.

Meanwhile, a BJP politician and federal minister, Arjun Ram Meghwal, told the press after Gandhi’s press conference that nobody is stopping Gandhi from speaking but he should think before he speaks.