Odisha: Congress holds 'satyagraha' protesting Rahul Gandhi's disqualification

The Congress on Sunday staged 'satyagraha' across Odisha in protest against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Parliament following his conviction in a defamation case.

OPCC president Sarat Pattnayak staged a sit-in demonstration at Mahatma Gandhi Park here, while the party's whip in assembly, Taraprasad Bahinipati, staged a dharna in front of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

''The Modi government disqualified Rahul Gandhi out of fear to stop him from speaking the truth on the Adani issue. His rising popularity after Bharat Jodo Yatra created panic in the BJP, which is why they targeted him,'' he said.

He alleged that the BJP was using central agencies such as CBI and ED to target political opponents.

''Rahul Gandhi was immediately disqualified after his conviction in the case, without giving him time to appeal in higher courts. This puts a question mark on the functionality of democracy in the country,'' Pattnayak said.

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