Rahul Gandhi, said on Wednesday, he never imagined he would be disqualified from the Lok Sabha. In a talk at Stanford University, California in the U.S., the congress leader believes he is the first person to receive such harsh punishment.
Earlier in the year, in March, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a member of the Parliament from the Wayanad Lok Sabha. The court alleged he made comments against Modi in 2019 and convicted him in a criminal defamation case for two years.
Gandhi said when he initially started out in politics, he never thought this would happen to him one day. However, he took looked at the setback positively and commented it gave him a chance to work for the people. He continued stating that this was an opportunity he would have otherwise received.
The infamous defamation case
Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification may have received its end on March 2024 with the court ruling but it started out six months prior to it. In the same speech at Stanford University, Rahul Gandhi elaborated on what actually happened. He stated they were struggling, including the opposition. He believes they are fighting an uphill democratic battle in India. He made it clear that he does not want help from anyone.
The complainant alleged that a problematic comment was made at a rally for the Lok Sabha elections in Kolar Karnataka in 2019. Gandhi reportedly defamed the Modi surname and by extension everyone in the community by saying that “all thieves have Modi as a common surname”.
BJP MLA, Purnesh Modi took offence to the comment and then lodged a complaint and a case was filed under sections 499 and 500 of the IPC that deals with defamation. Gandhi was convicted of the maximum sentence possible of two years of jail time. He also had to vacate his house.
Rahul Gandhi reacted by saying that he follows a religion of non-violence and that his truth is his God. Earlier he also said that he had no bad intentions.
US Tour
After a tussle regarding his passport, Rahul Gandhi headed to his 10-day-long U.S. tour. He started off on May 30th by stopping at San Fransico followed by Washington DC and New York. Gandhi has met with the NRI community in these states and interacted with, lawmakers, leaders and several intellectuals at the Harvard Club.
Pitroda, the Indian overseas Congress chief, welcomed Gandhi to the country. He stated the visit is the perfect chance to share his values and vision for democracy in the country.
As Gandhi addressed the larger NRI community, a debate started between Congress and BJP. He hit back at PM Modi by saying there is a group of people who believe they know everything, even more than God. Gandhi went on to create a scenario where PM Modi was teaching God how the universe was made, confusing the latter. BJP, on the other hand, was not happy with tarnishing the image of the country and insulting India during his international trip.
