Rahul Gandhi's plea challenging Surat court order to be filed soon, says Congress
Rahul Gandhi was convicted by a Surat court in a defamation case against Prime Minister narendra Modi, which also led to him being disqualified as the MP of Lok Sabha
PremiumThe Congress has prepared a petition challenging the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by a Surat Court in a 2019 defamation case, news agency PTI reported. The grand old party will soon file the petition in court, the news report mentioned.
The Surat court on 23 March convicted former Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his comment during an election rally in 2019. The comment in question was, 'how come all thieves have Modi surname in common'.
The Surat court sentenced Gandhi to two years of imprisonment. The conviction also led to Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as the MP from the Lok Sabha triggering a political kerfuffle.
The Congress has said that it will fight the matter both politically and legally and will take the issue to the public.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the legal team was working on the petition. "We know where to appeal. We know when to appeal as we have 30 days' time. Rest is being looked after by the legal team. BJP's allegations are baseless," he said.
Congress Whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore said the government has deliberately disqualified Rahul Gandhi under a well-planned conspiracy to not allow him to attend Parliament during this budget session.
"This is a totally false case and his disqualification has come to keep him away from Parliament. But, we will fight it both legally and politically," he told reporters outside Parliament.
Rahul gandhi's disqualification has brought about a united front ont he Opposition parties of the country. Several meetings of the opposition parties have been convened by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge after Rahul Gandhi's disqualification. 19 opposition parties are now on board with the Congress.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission said it was in no hurry to announce bye-election to Wayanad constituency as the trail court has given Gandhi one month to appeal against the court order.
"There is no hurry, we will wait. There is not hurry to do it before exhausting that particular remedy which the trial court had accorded. We will take a call after that," Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said at a press conference.
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