NEW DELHI: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said the party will fight both politically and legally on setback to Rahul Gandhi after the Gujarat High Court earlier in the day upheld his 2-year conviction as awarded by a Surat sessions court, denying suspension of the conviction.
It decided to approach the Supreme Court after the High Court denied stay on his conviction in the defamation case against “Modi surname” remark that disqualifies him as an MP and debars him from contesting. Kharge tweeted that Rahul had always foght for the truth and will do so in future too.
Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal said, “We believe this decision (by the Gujarat HC) is wrong on the basis of facts and laws.”
“We have always respected the judiciary and held it in high esteem but we believe that this decision is wrong – both in facts as well as law…The political fate (of Rahul Gandhi) is not decided really by the decision of the court. It is decided by the people of the country and the people of the country are solidly behind Rahul Gandhi…,” Bansal told reporters at the AICC headquarters here.
Chief Congress spokesman Jairam Ramesh said the High Court ruling is being studies and the “judgment only recoubles our resolve to pursue the matter further. “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 judge is being studied, as it should be.” he said.
The Gujarat High Court’s decision implies that Rahul Gandhi will not be able to contest elections or seek revocation of the suspension of his status as a Member of Parliament.
After the High Court announced its verdict, Congress workers raised slogans and protested at the party headquarters in the national capital. In Rajasthan Congress workers sporting black bands carried out a protest march in Jaipur, Congress has asked all the PCCs to take out protests.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader DK Shivakumar termed the verdict a “murder of democracy.”
“It is very unfortunate that justice has not prevailed. It is murder of democracy but still, the entire country and the Opposition parties stand by him (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 will grow stronger,” tweeted Shivakumar.
Talking to reporters in Ahmedabad, Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil said that the decision regarding the defamation case against Rahul Gandhi was between 80 and 90 pages long and Congressman Abhishek Manu Singhvi would provide the AICC’s official response to the ruling today after reviewing the entire ruling.
“Rahul Gandhi spoke against Lalit Modi-Nirav Modi who looted the country and fled. He said this in Karnataka. Surat Court had no jurisdiction. The procedure was not followed. There is nothing concrete in Rahul Gandhi’s case. We are absolutely sure that we will get justice,” Gohil said.
The lower court sentenced the Congress leader to two years in jail on March 23 under sections 499 and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in a case filed by former BJP minister Purnesh Modi.
Singhvi, a senior advocate and Congress MP in Rajya Sabha, said the High Court decision is disappointing and not unexpected as the party was waiting for 66 days. He said the appeal was filed on April 25. He said the legal jurisprudence from High Court and Surat court is unparallel. Even the latest ruling also does not show how the complainant was defamed and what loss was caused to him nor does the HC shows malice on part of Rahul.
He described it as a conspiracy to stop free thinking. He said there is no pleading on the reference to Veer Savarkar case filed on April 12 in the High Court ruling. He said the basic issue is to control free speech. He said the judgment he got only 10 minutes ago will be examined to challenge it in the Supreme Court.
Singhvi also challenged the charge of “moral turpitude” in the High Court ruling as if Rahul had done a very serious offence. He said the defamation law provides a maximum sentence of two years but the ruling tries to show as if it is an offence against the nation that should have involved the death sentence.
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