Rahul disqualification: Congress core team goes into huddle

Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge along with other senior leaders are in a huddle at the party headquarters in Delhi over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as Lok Sabha MP.

Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge said that a meeting has been called at the party office over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as Lok Sabha MP. The meeting will be held at 5 pm today.

Earlier in the day speaking to the media, the party president alleged that the BJP tried 'all ways' to disqualify Rahul Gandhi as a member of Lok Sabha.

"They (BJP) tried all ways to disqualify him. They don't want to keep those who are speaking the truth but we will continue to speak the truth. We'll continue to demand JPC, If needed we'll go to jail to save democracy," Kharge said.

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after he was convicted by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case. Announcing his disqualification, the Lok Sabha Secretariat in a notification said that it was effective from March 23, the day of his conviction. "Consequent upon his conviction by the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Surat...Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency of Kerala stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 23 March 2023," the notification read.

Reacting to the development, Congress said it will fight the battle both "legally and politically".

"We will not be intimidated or silenced. Instead of a JPC into the PM-linked Adani MahaMegaScam Rahul Gandhi stands disqualified. Indian Democracy Om Shanti," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said he was stunned by the action against Gandhi and by its rapidity. "This is politics with the gloves off and it bodes ill for our democracy," Tharoor said in a tweet.