Rahul 'thinks it is his birthright to rule India': Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday slammed Rahul Gandhi saying he was disqualified as MP from Lok Sabha because of his "arrogance".

He said that the Congress leader considers it is his "birthright" to rule the country since he is born into a certain family. "Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified because of his arrogance. He thinks it is his birthright to rule this country and that is causing all this cognitive dissonance in his mind," ANI quoted Vaishnaw as saying in an interview.

Earlier in the press conference the minister asked whether Gandhi is above the law. "When the court gave the decision over the insult of the OBC community, Rahul Gandhi today says that the court is wrong. Rahul Gandhi thinks that ruling this country is his birthright. He does the politics of entitlement. He thinks that it becomes his birthright to rule the country since he is born into a certain family. He considers himself above the Constitution, court and Parliament," Vaishnaw added.

"He considers himself above the country's institutions. Rahul Gandhi thinks no court can give a judgement against him... He thinks that the provision in the Constitution for disqualification should not be applied to him because he is in politics with a feeling of entitlement," Ashwini Vaishnaw added.

He then attacked the opposition parties for coming together to attack the Centre on Adani issue and Rahul Gandhi's disqualification.

"All the corrupt people have come together on a single stage. Their only objective is to derail and disturb the government and the new energy in the country. Those people should remember how the country was looted during the UPA government and conspiracy was hatched to weaken the institutions," he said. "Those who talk about institutions should answer if the institutions are strengthened by tearing apart the ordinance when the Prime Minister was abroad. This proves that Rahul Gandhi considers himself above every institution," Vaishnaw added citing Rahul Gandhi's old incident in 2013.

Gandhi has been disqualified from Lok Sabha last Friday after his conviction by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case. Announcing his disqualification in a notification, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said that it is effective from March 23, the day of his conviction.

It came a day after the Surat court sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail in a defamation case filed based on a complaint by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi for the Congress leader's remark "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" while delivering a speech in 2019.