Raising the pitch against the BJP over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as Lok Sabha MP, Congress leaders and workers on Sunday held protests across the country, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accusing the government of "trying to silence" a "martyr's son" for raising the voice of people.
As the protest over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification enters day two, here's a look at what has happened so far:
1. The Congress on Sunday put up a stage outside Mahatma Gandhi's memorial for its day-long protest "Sankalp Satyagraha" after being denied permission by the police to protest at the memorial.
2. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party leaders of repeatedly insulting her family members. She further added that no cases were filed against them.
3. "You have called a martyr's son anti-national, Mir Jafar, insulted his mother in Parliament. The prime minister in Parliament asks why this family does not use the 'Nehru' surname. You insult the entire family and the tradition of Kashmiri Pandits. But there is no case against you. You don't get a case or a two-year term and no one disqualifies you. Why?" she asked.
4. Congress MPs are planning to wear black clothes to the House in protest today. This will be the first sitting of the Lok Sabha since Rahul Gandhi's disqualification on Friday.
5. Congress workers in many states and union territories like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat took part in the protests on Sunday.
6. Kharge, who led the "Sankalp Satyagraha" protest outside Delhi's Raj Ghat, asked why the BJP was feeling hurt if fugitives Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi were being criticised. "They talk of OBC now, is Lalit Modi OBC, is Nirav Modi OBC, is Mehul Choksi OBC, they ran away with people's money. If they are fugitives why are you pained if they are criticised," he asked.
7. Meanwhile, the BJP hit out at the Congress over its Sankalp Satyagraha, alleging that it was agitating against the country's Constitution and the court's verdict against Rahul Gandhi to justify his remarks against the entire backward community of the country
8. "Satyagraha for what?... Is it to justify the way you insulted the entire backward community of the country, or against the court which sentenced you, or against the provision under which you have to be disqualified," said BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi.
9. Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after a court in Gujarat's Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case for asking if those who have 'Modi' as surname were thieves.
10. The disqualification will prevent Gandhi (52), a four-time MP, from contesting elections for eight years unless a higher court stays the conviction.
(With PTI inputs)
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