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New Delhi: Congress has called a meeting of opposition leaders today after Rahul Gandhi was convicted in a criminal defamation case. This meeting is expected to start at 10 am. Rahul Gandhi was found guilty of defamation in the 2019 case, in which he made controversial remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘surname’.
However, Rahul Gandhi was granted bail immediately after being convicted by the court and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to enable him to appeal against the decision. Meanwhile, it is also feared that Rahul Gandhi may lose his membership of the Parliament after being sentenced to two years by the court.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said after Rahul Gandhi was sentenced, “This is not just a legal issue, it is also a very serious political issue, which is related to the future of our democracy. This is Modi government’s vendetta politics, intimidation.” The politics of intimidation is a great example of the politics of intimidation.”
Jairam Ramesh said the meeting at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence lasted for about two hours and it was decided that the party chief would hold a meeting with all state Congress chiefs and Congress Legislature Party leaders in the evening and chalk out a plan for the nationwide agitation.
On Thursday, the Congress had said that on Friday around 11:30 am or in the afternoon, all opposition parties would march from Parliament to Rashtrapati Bhavan. The party said that it has sought time from President Draupadi Murmu to present its case. From Monday, major opposition parties will protest in Delhi and other states regarding this issue.
According to experts, on the basis of the Surat court’s order, the Lok Sabha Secretariat can disqualify Rahul Gandhi and declare his Wayanad seat vacant. After this, the Election Commission will announce the special election for the seat. However, this scenario will be seen when the sentence is not stayed by the High Court.
If the decision is not set aside by a High Court, Rahul Gandhi will also not be allowed to contest elections for the next eight years. According to Rahul Gandhi’s team, the Congress leader is planning to challenge the decision in the High Court. If the appeal for suspension of sentence and stay on the order is not accepted there, they will approach the Supreme Court.
