Rahul Gandhi's disqualification against healthy democracy, says Akali Dal

Shiromani Akali Dal on Friday said the ''arbitrary'' disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha was not in the interest of a healthy democracy and was against the principle of natural justice.

Punjab Congress leaders also hit out at the BJP with Leader of Opposition in the state Partap Singh Bajwa saying the disqualification was a ''new low in Indian politics.'' Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was on Friday disqualified from Lok Sabha following his conviction by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case, an action the party said was an attempt to ''silence'' his voice as it vowed to fight the battle legally and politically.

''The arbitrary disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha was not in the interest of a healthy democracy and was against the principle of natural justice,'' SAD said in a statement.

Questioning the ''haste'' in which Rahul Gandhi had been disqualified, SAD senior leader and party spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said ''it is not right to disqualify a member within 24 hours of a court decision especially when the appeal against the decision is in process.'' Asserting that the Congress leader should have been given appropriate time to appeal against the court order, Cheema said the action ''gives the impression that the central government is conducting itself in a partisan and dictatorial manner.'' Cheema said parliamentary traditions should be maintained at all costs and an impression should not be given that the opposition is being suppressed in any manner whatsoever.

He said that the SAD has taken a principled stand on this issue even though it was against the policies of the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi.

Bajwa in a tweet said ''Rahul Gandhi has been punished by brute force of BJP for raising issues linked to Adani, rising inflation and unemployment in the Parliament. He was raising the voice of millions of Indians in Parliament.'' ''Now The BJP won't need to mute mics in Lok Sabha or use its diversionary tactics to not debate Adani, Nirav Modi, Mallya or Mehul Choksi. We will fight this battle legally and politically..,'' Bajwa said in another tweet.

Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring in his tweet said the disqualification has betrayed BJP's fears.

''The tearing hurry shown by Lok Sabha Secretariat in disqualifying @INCIndia leader @RahulGandhi at the behest of @BJP4India govt only betrays their acute sense of fear and panic about their imminent fate. Their countdown has started and their action confirms that,'' he wrote.

Senior Congress leader from Haryana Randeep Singh Surjewala in one of his tweets said, ''Today is a 'Black Day' in Democracy ! Today is a 'blot' on 'Right to Speak!' Today is the 'death knell' of calling out 'fugitives & bank fraudsters!''' ''Today is day of 'blind revenge' of PM for asking for JPC into #Adani ! TODAY IS THE DAY OF FIGHTING FOR TRUTH & NOT BOWING DOWN!'' he said.

Another senior Congress leader from Haryana, Kumari Selja, said ''a scared BJP government wants to suppress the voice of Rahul Gandhi, who has been fighting for the interests of the countrymen.'' ''Rahul Gandhi's fight against the dictatorial government is not going to stop. No matter how many tricks the BJP adopts, the truth will win,'' Selja, a former Union Minister, said in a tweet in Hindi.

The BJP has dismissed the charges and termed the disqualification ''lawful.'' The disqualification, which stands to bar 52-year-old Gandhi from contesting polls for eight years unless stayed by a higher court, saw a shift in the dynamics of Opposition ranks with Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party also expressing strong support for the embattled leader, along with several other Opposition parties.

Announcing his disqualification, the Lok Sabha Secretariat in a notification said that it was effective from March 23, the day of his conviction.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)