‘What kind of arrogance is this?’ Amit Shah says Rahul Gandhi not only politician to lose membership
1 min read 29 Mar 2023, 11:01 PM ISTAmit Shah pointed out that Rahul Gandhi had himself torn an ordinance during the previous UPA government, which could have potentially benefited him now
PremiumUnion Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is not the only Member of Parliament to lose his membership after a conviction and he is free to go before the higher court. The minister named some senior leaders who were convicted and hence disqualified from either the state assembly or Parliament.
"He has not appealed to take stay on his conviction. What kind of arrogance is this? You want a favour. You want to continue as an MP and will also not go before the court," he said, adding where such arrogance comes from.
The home minister was speaking at the 'News 18 Rising India' program and said that Rahul Gandhi is free to go to a higher court and fight his case, but instead, the Congress leader is trying to blame Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"This gentleman is not the first one. Politicians who held much bigger positions and with much more experience have lost their membership because of this provision," the home minister said.
Amit Shah said that there were as many as 17 politicians, including former Chief Ministers Lalu Prasad and J Jayalalithaa, who were convicted by the courts while they held positions either in the assembly or Parliament. These politicians had much more experience than Gandhi.
The home minister also pointed out that Gandhi had himself torn an ordinance during the previous UPA government, which could have potentially benefited him now.
Furthermore, the home minister emphasized that the law of the country mandates that any individual who is convicted by a court loses their membership in either the Parliament or assembly.
“The Congress has many big lawyers and some of them are Rajya Sabha members. They should advise him about the legal issues," he said.
On the question of notice to Rahul Gandhi to vacate his official residence, the home minister said that these things are natural and there is no hurry.
“It is the law of the country that all of his speeches in Parliament would have to be removed from the records from the moment he was convicted. Even if his disqualification notice was served a few days later, it would have made no difference," he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
