As a result of the verdict, Rahul Gandhi will be unable to contest elections or seek revocation of his Member of Parliament status
Reacting to Gujarat High Court’s verdict upholding the sessions court order in the plea seeking a stay on Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in a criminal defamation case in connection with his remark on Modi surname, Congress said the judgement only “redoubles our resolve to pursue the matter further”.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter and said, “We have noted the verdict of the single-judge bench of the Gujarat High Court on the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi. The reasoning of the Hon’ble judge is being studied, as it should be, and Dr Abhishek Singhvi will be briefing the media in detail at 3 pm. The judgement only redoubles our resolve to pursue the matter further.”
While dismissing Rahul Gandhi’s plea, Justice Hemant Prachchhak noted that the Congress leader is already facing 10 cases across India, adding the order of the lower court was “just, proper and legal” in convicting the Congress leader. The HC noted that there is no reasonable ground to stay the conviction.
As a result of the verdict, Rahul Gandhi will be unable to contest elections or seek revocation of his Member of Parliament status.
Congress workers staged a protest and raised slogans at party headquarters in Delhi after Gujarat High Court’s verdict on the defamation case against Rahul Gandhi.
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Karnataka Deputy CM and Congress leader DK Shivakumar said BJP leaders want to block Rahul Gandhi from the Parliament but he will emerge stronger.
“Very unfortunate that justice has not prevailed. It is the murder of democracy. Still, the entire country and the Opposition parties stand by Rahul Gandhi. He is a great leader who is fighting across the country to unite it. BJP leaders are not able to tolerate this. They want to block him from Parliament. I feel he (Rahul Gandhi) will grow stronger,” he said.
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BJP REACTS TO GUJARAT HIGH COURT’S VERDICT
Reacting to the Gujarat High Court’s verdict, BJP MLA Purnesh Modi said “Rahul Gandhi should think about it and not create such histories”.
“We welcome today’s verdict by the High Court. He should think about it and not create such histories,” Modi was quoted by ANI as saying.
BJP MLA R Ashok also welcomed the Gujarat High Court’s order saying Rahul Gandhi made a mistake and must be punished.
“I welcome the decision of the Gujarat High Court. Rahul Gandhi made a mistake, he spoke against Modi and he must be punished. Modi is not just the name of one person, it’s the name of a community. He made a criminal Statement against Modi and I welcome the decision of the Gujarat High Court,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi was convicted in the Modi surname case by a Surat district court and was sentenced to a two-year jail term on March 23, following which, he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha as a convicted person cannot remain a parliamentarian.
Seeking a stay on his conviction, Rahul Gandhi approached the Surat sessions court, but his plea was dismissed on April 20. On April 25, Rahul Gandhi filed an appeal challenging the Surat sessions court’s decision in the high court.
In May, the Gujarat High Court declined to grant interim relief to the Congress leader and said the final order would be issued after the summer break.
