Disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from LS as per rules: Ramdas Athawale

The disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Parliament has got nothing to do with the BJP or the NDA, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said here on Sunday.

The decision to disqualify Gandhi was taken by Lok Sabha secretariat as per the rules, the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment said here.

Athawale also announced his Republican Party of India (RPI)'s decision to back the NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Gandhi, 52, was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on March 24, a day after a court in Gujarat's Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case.

"Disqualification of Rahul Gandhi was not BJP's decision. This decision was by the Parliament. A Lakshwadweep MP was also disqualified from Lok Sabha as per rules," Athawale told reporters here.

Mohammed Faizal of NCP was disqualified from the Lok Sabha in January this year after he was convicted in an attempt to murder case. He was reinstated last week by the Lok Sabha secretariat, just hours before his plea against the disqualification was to be considered by the Supreme Court.

Targeting Rahul Gandhi over his alleged comments during a speech delivered in a University in London that there was no democracy in India, Athawale wondered, "if there was no democracy, how Congress was in power for several years in the country?".

On the clashes between members of two communities post Ram Navami celebrations in West Bengal, he said such violent incidents should never take place.

"We do not want any conflict between Hindus and Muslims. In Uttar Pradesh, there was no single incident of violence reported between members of Hindu and Muslim communities in the last 7 years," he said.

Asserting that the BJP was not against the Muslim community, he said, "In UP, eight per cent votes secured by the Yogi Adityanath headed government were from the Muslim community," he said.

Regarding his Chennai visit, Athawale said the National Executive Committee meeting of the Republic Party of India was held in the city.

"State presidents of our party, delegates from Kanyakumari to Kashmir attended the meeting and it was decided to support the NDA alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," he said.

The BJP led NDA alliance will definitely return to power in 2024 Parliamentary elections under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he affirmed.

He exuded confidence that the NDA alliance will win more than 315 seats.

Athawale listed out the schemes rolled out by the Centre, including the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana scheme, for the benefit of the public to buttress his claim.

"Under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana scheme, as many as 13.65 crore people have received loans across the country, while 4.57 crore beneficiaries were granted loans under the scheme in Tamil Nadu," he said.

Athawale appealed to Chief Minister M K Stalin to set up a statue of the Chief architect of the Constitution, B R Ambedkar in Kanyakumari.

"I will write a letter to Chief Minister M K Stalin on this.." he said.

Voicing concern against casteism, he said because of it, atrocities take place and the Tamil Nadu government should ensure that no such incidents occur.

Responding to a query on alleged attacks on migrant workers in Tamil Nadu, he said,"I feel it is not Jammu Kashmir, it is Tamil Nadu.. it is also an important state in South India. Therefore many North Indians come here and attacks are not a good thing."

He urged the state government to take action against those involved in such attacks.

Tamil Nadu police have arrested a few people, including a Bihar-based YouTuber for allegedly circulating fake videos of attacks on migrant workers in the southern state.