Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin issued a statement on Congress leader’s Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as Lok Sabha MP saying the act “amounts to threatening and curtailing the fundamental democratic right of a national party’s leader and an MP to express his opinion.”
The disqualification of @RahulGandhi as MP before he could go for an appeal is death knell for democracy.
The metamorphosis of BJP's vindictive politics into autocracy is happening at an alarming pace. If one goes by history, it is very clear what is in store for such autocrats. pic.twitter.com/oTW4PMXi6X
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) March 24, 2023
“It is now clear how much the BJP is scared of Rahul Gandhi. The impact created by brother Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is also a reason for BJP’s fear. Nobody from the Union Government has responded so far for any of Rahul Gandhi’s accusations at the Parliament. They have disqualified him with the fear of Rahul Gandhi entering into Parliament again will jeopardise their politics. By doing so, the BJP has lost all rights to even utter the term ‘democracy’”, MK Stalin had said.
Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as Lok Sabha MP after he was convicted by a Surat court in the Modi Surname defamation case. During a political rally at Kolar, Karnataka in 2019, Rahul Gandhi had said “why do all thieves have Modi as the common surname”, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, fugitive Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi. Ex-Minister and Gujarat BJP MLA Purnesh Modi had filed a case under Indian Penal Code Sections 499 and 500 which mandates a punishment with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both, are mentioned in the Indian Penal Code.
Responding to the statement of MK Stalin, Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai hit back calling the DMK chief a ‘knee jerk responder to a troll video’.
Annamalai was referring to the arrest of an admin of Twitter page which had posted a meme targeting Chief Minister MK Stalin, TN Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, and the recently announced monthly assistance scheme for women as PTR in his budget speech said that the DMK government will roll out the scheme of providing ‘rightful money’ of ₹1,000 per month to women heads of “eligible households”.
Annamalai also cited the circumstances that resulted in the conviction of Rahul Gandhi and the subsequent disqualification.
“History should have reminded you that you are in alliance today with a party which dismissed your govt. We surely know what’s in store for autocrats like you in disguise as people advocating democracy.”, Annamalai said.
Knee Jerk responder to a troll video; History says this Thiru @mkstalin
On September 28, 2013, Thiru @RahulGandhi tore the ordinance that gave 3 months' time to MLAs & MPs from disqualification & called it “complete nonsense”. (1/4) https://t.co/vcOGcgl1St
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) March 25, 2023
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