NEW DELHI – Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Friday alleged that the whole purpose of the defamation case against party leader Rahul Gandhi was to disqualify him from the Parliament and everything that followed is an attempt to justify his disqualification.
In a tweet, targeting the BJP government at the Centre, the former Union Minister said: “The whole purpose of the ‘defamation’ case against Rahul Gandhi was to disqualify him from Parliament. Everything that followed is an attempt to justify the disqualification.
“Let me repeat what I had said earlier: In the 162 years the Indian Penal Code has been in force, there has been no case of slander (verbal defamation) where a court has imposed the maximum punishment of two years. That fact says all about the case and the judgement of the trial court. One day, justice will be delivered.”
His remarks came after the Gujarat High Court on Friday did not stay the session court judgement convicting Rahul Gandhi in the ‘Modi surname’ defamation case.
Rahul Gandhi, after his conviction on March 23 by the Surat court, was disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP on March 24.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Monday that after the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Telangana last year, the grand old party is headed towards victory in the state like it did in Karnataka.
In a tweet, Ramesh said: “The Congress party in Telangana has already announced the Farmers’ Declaration in Warangal and the Youth Declaration in Hyderabad, yesterday (on Sunday) Rahul Gandhi announced a guaranteed pension of Rs. 4000 per month for senior citizens and widows. He also promised to return Podu land to adivasis if the Congress forms government.
“From the time of the Bharat Jodo Yatra that went through 8 districts of the state covering 405 kms and evoking a tremendous response from the people, it is clear that we are headed towards victory in Telangana as we did in Karnataka.”
Ramesh, who is also the party’s communication incharge, made the remarks a day after former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi announced in Telangana that if the party is voted to power, widows and senior citizens will get a monthly pension of Rs 4,000.
Rahul Gandhi made the announcement while addressing ‘Jana Garjana’ public meeting in Telangana’s Khammam on Sunday. He also promised that if voted to power, the Congress will return Podu lands to tribals.
The former Congress President said that all those lands “taken away” by the KCR government from farmers and Dalits will also be returned to them.
The Assembly elections in Telangana are scheduled to be held later this year. While the Congress is pushing hard to win the polls, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) led by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is also leaving no stone unturned to make a comeback for the third consecutive term in the state.
