Assam: Opposition slams BJP for Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha

In the wake of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha, opposition parties in Assam have criticized the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and accused it of "finishing the democracy". Gandhi was disqualified from Parliament following his conviction in a defamation case. The opposition parties, including Congress, Assam Jatiya Parishad, and Assam Trinamool Congress, alleged that the disqualification was a result of BJP's attempt to silence opposition voices.

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) tweeted that Gandhi has been consistently fighting for people's rights and to protect Indian democracy, both within and outside Parliament. "He will continue to do so. Truth shall, must and will prevail. Appropriate legal action will be taken," the APCC added. The party's president, Bhupen Kumar Borah, claimed that the conviction and disqualification is the outcome of speaking for the people of the country.

Akhil Gogoi, an Assam MLA, termed the disqualification of the Congress MP an aberration for democracy. "Defamation suit becomes a tool for political vendetta. It's the start of the ruin of the 'Modi Regime'. A repetition of Emergency era 1975-77," he said. Lurinjyoti Gogoi, president of the Assam Jatiya Parishad, said Gandhi's disqualification shows the BJP-led government's desperation and lays bare its attempt to muzzle opposition voices.

Dilip Kumar Sarma, a leader of the Assam Trinamool Congress, criticized the action on the former Congress president and said the success of India's democracy depends on the independence of executive, legislature, and judiciary. "When everything runs on the instructions of the executive, then the destruction of democracy starts. The Lok Sabha secretariat has done such an act today. Lok Sabha, which works to uphold democracy, today in a way killed democracy," he added.

Gandhi's disqualification will bar him from contesting polls for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction and sentence. He was sentenced to two years in jail in a defamation case filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi for his alleged remark, "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" The Congress party has vowed to take appropriate legal action against the disqualification.