I'm not Savarkar, won't apologise: Rahul Gandhi on disqualification from Indian parliament

A day after he was disqualified from the Indian parliament, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday (March 25) that he is not scared of disqualifications, threats or prison sentences and would continue to question the relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani. Addressing a press conference, Gandhi said, "I have said many times before that democracy is being attacked in the country. We are seeing examples of this each day. I asked questions in the parliament regarding the relationship between PM Modi and Adani."

Gandhi said that Prime Minister Modi is scared of his next speech on Adani, "and I have seen it in his eyes."

"That is why, first the distraction and then the disqualification," the Congress leader told reporters.

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On being asked if he would apologise for the "Modi surname" remark which led to the defamation case, Gandhi told reporters, "I am a Gandhi and not Savarkar, and Gandhis do not apologise."

Gandhi also said that even if he was disqualified (from parliament) permanently, he would keep fighting for the country.

"I will keep doing my work. it does not matter if I am inside the parliament or not. I will keep fighting for the country," he said.

"My job is to defend the democratic nature of the country which means defending the institutions of the country, defending the voice of the poor people of the country and telling people the truth about people like Adani who are exploiting the relationship they have with the PM," the Congress leader told reporters.

Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from parliament comes after a court in Gujarat found him guilty in a 2019 defamation case on Thursday. During a Lok Sabha election rally in Karnataka in April 2019, Gandhi referred to thieves as having the surname Modi.

After convicting Gandhi,the court granted him bail and suspended his jail sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.

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The parliament notification on Friday said that Gandhi was disqualified from the membership of the Lok Sabha as per the provisions of Article 102 (1) (e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

On Saturday, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court challenging the provisions of the Representatives of the Peoples Act under which Gandhi was disqualified. According to the legal news portal Bar and Bench, the petition filed by scholar and social activist Aabha Muralidharan urged the court to declare “ultra-vires” Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 which provides for automatic disqualification of a legislator from the parliament or state assembly upon conviction in a criminal case.

The petitioner said factors such as nature, gravity, role, moral turpitude, and the role of the accused, ought to be examined while considering disqualification under Chapter III of the 1951 Act.

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