New Delhi [India], March 28 (ANI): The opposition parties on Monday decided to continue their ‘black’ protest on Tuesday against the BJP-led government over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi and “trampling upon democracy in the country” and a final call will be taken in the morning, sources said. The meeting of like-minded opposition parties was held at the residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge who had invited the leaders for a dinner.
Sources said the meeting of like-minded opposition parties decided that the protest of opposition parties will continue and will be held in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament tomorrow with all of the opposition wearing black clothes. The final call will be taken at the meeting to be held at Kharge’s chamber in Parliament, they said.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was among those present at the meeting of opposition leaders. Leaders from DMK, NCP, JD-U, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, CPI-M, CPI, AAP, MDMK, TMC, RSP, RJD, National Conference, IUML, Samajwadi Party and JMM were among those present. Shiv Sena (UBT) was not present amid its concerns over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks concerning VD Savarkar.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet later that leaders of 18 parties were present and decided to continue with their campaign against the Modi governmennt “that is destroying democracy and that has subverted all institutions”. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal told ANI that every opposition party is together and they will move forward with the same energy.
“Rahul Gandhi is not worried about the house. Whatever the government of India is doing with the country’s democracy is a bigger issue, that is what he told. Every Opposition party is together, we had a cordial discussion and we will move forward with the same energy,” he said.
Opposition members took out a march in the morning wearing black attire or bands in Parliament premises as part of their protest. Days after his disqualification, Rahul Gandhi was sent notice by the Lok Sabha House Committee to vacate his official bungalow.
Congress leader Harish Rawat said they were not surprised that notice has been given to vacate the bungalow. “Since Rahul Gandhi questioned the PM regarding the Adani issue, the government is trying to show that they will silence the voice that disagrees with them,” he said.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said the notice shows “BJP’s hatred towards Rahul Gandhi”. “For a period of 30 days after the notice is served, one can rightfully continue to stay in the same house. After the 30-day time period, one can continue to stay in the same house by paying rent at market rates. Rahul Gandhi comes under ‘Z’ plus security category,” he said.
Kharge earlier hit out at the Centre over the Adani issue and Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as Lok Sabha MP and said that the opposition leaders are wearing black attire or black bands to show that democracy is being trampled in the country.
Kharge alleged that the Centre used the probe agencies to bend those who did not bow before the government. Congress and its allies staged protests in some other parts of the country against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as MP from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a criminal defamation case by a Surat court.
Indian Youth Congress workers were detained in Delhi after they protested over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as an MP. Rahul Gandhi was on Friday disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha, a day after a Surat court sentenced him to two years imprisonment in a defamation case filed against him over his ‘Modi surname’ remark.
Opposition parties have been pressing for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani issue and the second part of the budget session has seen regular disruptions. (ANI)
Parliament continues to face disruptions; Congress plans month-long protests against BJP-led government
New Delhi [India], March 29 (ANI): The war of words between Congress and BJP over Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from Lok Sabha and on JPC demand over Adani issue continued on Thursday with the two Houses also facing adjournments. Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned for the day following opposition protests. The two Houses were earlier adjourned till 2 pm. Some opposition members continued their “black” protest which they started on Monday.
Outside the Parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday launched a fresh attack on Rahul Gandhi stating that the Congress leader was “pretending not to be a coward” after apologising to the Supreme Court of India for his previous remarks. Addressing a press conference, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said that Rahul Gandhi has been convicted by the court for “abusing” the OBC community.
“He (Rahul Gandhi) abused and accused PM Modi in Parliament but could not verify his own statement by authenticating it with his own signature. He is the man who apologised to the Supreme Court and pretends today not to be a coward. Rahul Gandhi has been convicted by the court, for not abusing an individual but the OBC community is known to every citizen of our country,” she said.
“In an attempt to insult PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi also insulted the entire OBC community. This is not the first time Gandhi family has tried to insult people from Dalit or backward communities. Rahul Gandhi could not develop the humility to beg the forgiveness of the OBC community in our country is just another manifestation of the political arrogance called the Gandhi family,” she added.
Following conviction in a criminal defamation case by a Surat court, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as Lok Sabha MP on Friday last. Addressing a press conference a day later, Gandhi said he would not apologise over BJP demand. “My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone,” he had said.
In 2019 May, Rahul Gandhi had tendered an unconditional apology in the Supreme Court for his ‘Chowkidar Chor hai’ jibe against Prime Minister Modi. Citing an interview of Rahul Gandhi in the past, Irani said that he had vowed to destroy Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image but did not succeed.
“Rahul Gandhi in a magazine interview said that Modi Ji’s strength is his image and he will destroy that image. He said that he will keep attacking PM Modi’s image until he destroys it. The Gandhi family tried to malign the image of PM Narendra Modi when they were in power but they failed miserably. Rahul Gandhi’s promise to a magazine editor to rip Modi’s image apart is a promise that shall remain unfulfilled because PM Modi’s greatest strength is the people of India,” she said.
Asked about a notice served to Rahul Gandhi by the Housing Committee of Lok Sabha to vacate the government bungalow allotted to him, Irani said, “The house does not belong to him, it belongs to the common people.” Hitting back, Congress leaders alleged that the BJP government was “scared” of questions on the Adani issue.
Opposition parties had attacked the government following Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification and in a show of strength marched from the Parliament complex to Vijay Chowk on Monday. Opposition parties may bring a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday sources said, adding that the proposal was kept in a meeting of Congress MPs and the party is talking to other Opposition parties in this regard.
The Congress had planned ‘Loktantra Bachao Mashal Shanti March’ from the Red Fort to Town Hall in the national capital in the evening as part of its campaign against the government over Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification and “to save democracy”. Several Congress workers and leaders were “detained” by Police as the party tried to stage the protest march.
They party leaders staged a protest at Chandani Chowk and raised slogans against the government.
Congress leader Harish Rawat said Central government “is scared” of Opposition unity. “We wanted to take out ‘Mashaal March’ but so many police personnel were deployed & people were detained. Central govt is scared of Opposition unity. We’ll take the issue to blocks, villages. Democracy is in danger, we need to protect it:,” he said.
Party leader KC Venugopal said that party workers were stopped by police. “You should see the plight of democracy in the country. We are doing a peaceful torchlight march. Yesterday we discussed this with police & commissioners & they agreed. Today, they stopped our workers everywhere,” he said. As part of its campaign against the government on the Adani issue, “to save democracy” and in solidarity with Rahul Gandhi, the party has planned protests and press conferences across the country.
The party’s month-long campaign includes press conferences by national-level Leaders in 35 major cities and Jai Bharat Satyagraha at district and state levels and Jai Bharat Maha Satyagraha at the national level. The party has planned public campaign to send postcards to PM Modi “questioning him on relevant issues”.
The second part of budget session has seen continuous disruptions over the Opposition’s demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani-Hindenburg row and over BJP’s demand for apology from Rahul Gandhi over his remarks in United kingdom. (ANI)
