It's wrong, says Ghulam Nabi Azad on Rahul Gandhi's disqualification

Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday termed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha a "wrong thing" and does not bode well for democracy.

Gandhi was on Thursday sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his "why all thieves have Modi surname" remark. He was later disqualified from the Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction in the case.

"I am against this, whether he is Rahul Gandhi or Lalu Prasad Yadav or any other MP or MLA. It is against natural justice that on one side a judge delivered a judgement and on the other the MP or MLA is disqualified," Azad told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Kathua district.

It is a wrong thing, he said.

"Earlier, the rule was that he or she won't be disqualified till the last court does not award him punishment. There are 20 steps before reaching the last court. This does not go well with the democracy," the former Congress leader said.

"Earlier Lalu Prasad Yadav was disqualified and now Rahul Gandhi. This way, the entire parliament and assemblies will become vacant," he said, adding, "There should be a separate yardstick for political leaders."

Raising the pitch against the BJP over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha, Congress leaders and workers held protests across the country on Sunday, 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.

The BJP, however, slammed the Congress and asked if it was agitating against the country's Constitution or the law under which Rahul Gandhi was convicted or to justify his remarks against the entire backward community of the country.