Will fight for democracy even if disqualified permanently or jailed, says Rahul Gandhi
   Date :26-Mar-2023

Rahul Gandhi 
 
 
 
Delhi Bureau and Agencies
NEW DELHI,
A COMBATIVE Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that even if he is disqualified from Parliament for life or jailed, he would keep defending the democratic nature of the country, and claimed that a “panic-stricken” Government has handed the Opposition a “weapon” with the move to disqualify him. At his first press conference after being disqualified from the Lok Sabha, Gandhi claimed that he has been disqualified because Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “scared” of his next speech on the Adani issue and alleged that the “whole game” was to distract people from the panic that the Government was feeling over the matter.
Gandhi said the moot question remains who invested Rs 20,000 crore in Adani shell firms and that he will keep raising it. “I am here defending the democratic voice of the Indian people, I will continue to do that. I am not scared of these threats, of these disqualifications, allegations, prison sentences. I am not scared of them. These people don’t understand me yet, I am not scared of them,” he said, attacking the BJP. Gandhi said he will continue to ask what is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relationship with businessman Gautam Adani. “I have been disqualified because the Prime Minister is scared of my next speech. I have seen it in his eyes. So he is terrified of the next speech that is going to come and does not want that speech to be in Parliament,” the former Congress chief alleged at the press conference, flanked by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and party general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal.
He claimed that his attack on Adani was the reason for distraction through allegations and now disqualification. Asked if he was hopeful that his membership would be restored, Gandhi said, “I am not interested in hope. (Whether) I get my membership back or not, I will do my job. Even if they permanently disqualify me I will do my job, if they reinstate me, I will do my job. It does not matter to me whether I am in Parliament or outside it. I have to do my ‘tapasya’ and I will keep doing it,” he said. Pressed further on it, Gandhi reiterated that it makes no difference to him even if he is disqualified from Parliament for life or put in jail and that he will keep marching ahead. The Congress leader also thanked Opposition parties for extending support to him and asserted that going forward, all of them will work together. Asked about the consequences of his disqualification, Gandhi said the Opposition will benefit the most from this “panic reaction of Prime Minister Modi”