Rahul disqualification: Priyanka to hold 'Sankalp Padyatra' today

NEW DELHI: Protesting against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as a Lok Sabha MP, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday will hold a day-long 'Sankalp Padyatra' near Raj Ghat. As per sources, she will hold the protest from 10:30 am to 5 pm on Sunday.

She will protest against the disqualification of her brother and MP from Wayanad over the forging of "false cases" against him.

Earlier on Friday, Priyanka had hit out at the BJP-led Centre over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi.

Talking to the reporters, she said, "Whether it is the spokesperson for the BJP or minister or MP or the Prime Minister himself, from morning to evening, they talk about my family, about Rahul Gandhi, my father, my mother, about Indira-ji and about Pandit Nehru-ji. They keep criticizing us. No court or judge sentenced or disqualify them".

"My brother raised the Adani issue in Parliament and asked questions of the government. This is why he was disqualified as an MP," she added.

Rahul Gandhi, on Friday, was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha, a day after a Surat court sentenced him to two years imprisonment in a defamation case filed against him over his 'Modi surname' remark.

The decision came pertaining to his remark made in April 2019, where he had said "how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname" at a Lok Sabha election rally at Kolar in Karnataka.

The court approved Gandhi's bail on a surety and stayed the sentence for 30 days to allow him to approach the higher courts. After being convicted in the defamation case and subsequently disqualified from Lok Sabha, Gandhi, hit out BJP.

While addressing a press conference, Gandhi said that he is not scared of going to prison and his disqualification from Parliament was aimed at distracting people from the Adani issue.

"Moot question remains who invested Rs 20,000 crore in Adani shell firms? I will keep asking the question," he said. The former MP alleged that the BJP-led central government is allegedly protecting businessman Gautam Adani, who has been accused of stock manipulation "Why is the BJP-led centre is allegedly protecting the businessman Gautam Adani? Kyuki aap hi Adani ho," he alleged.

Attacking PM Modi, he said, "Prime Minister was scared of the next speech that was going to come on Adani. I have seen it in his eyes. That is why, first the distraction and then the disqualification".

The BJP hit back at him with Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur stating that the central government and Lok Sabha have no role to play in his disqualification and that Rahul Gandhi "is a case of political immaturity".

BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad also slammed Rahul Gandhi saying his utterances on Modi's surname "were abusive, not critical and that the BJP is going launch a stir against his insult to OBCs."