New Delhi: Claiming that he was not worried at all, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Saturday that his disqualification (from Lok Sabha), conviction, and jail sentence were “drama” to distract from his questions on money allegedly lying in shell companies owned by the Adani group.
Speaking for the first time since his disqualification, Gandhi, addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters in Delhi, said while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wanted to “distract” from the Adani issue, he would continue to question the prime minister’s relationship with Gautam Adani and his conglomerate.
“I’m here defending the democratic voice of the Indian people. I will continue to do that. I’m not scared of these threats of disqualification, these allegations or prison sentences,” he said.
“These people don’t understand me yet. They’re used to everyone being scared of them but I’m not scared of them. And I will continue to ask the question: What is the Prime Minister’s relationship with Mr Adani?,” he added.
On Thursday, a local court in Surat, Gujarat, had convicted Gandhi in a defamation case over a speech he had made in a 2019 election rally. In the speech, taking the names of PM Narendra Modi and businessmen-on-the-run Nirav and Lalit Modi, Gandhi had asked why “all thieves have Modi as surname.” The complaint filed against him for the same said that Gandhi had insulted the entire Modi community with his remark.
At the press meet, Gandhi said that he’d never asked for foreign intervention into India’s matters during his UK trip, as has been alleged by the BJP.
“They said that I’ve asked foreign forces to help India. (That is the) most ridiculous statement. I’ve never made such a statement. You can look at all the conversations I have had in the UK… In fact, I said this is India’s problem, India has to resolve this problem. Their ministers lied on the floor of the House,” he said.
More questions
He continued, “The second set of questions with proof was what is the prime minister’s relationship with Mr Adani. I showed a picture of the PM in Mr Adani’s plane, relaxing. I gave documentation about the defence industry…Pictures of Narendra Modi sitting with the state bank chairman in Australia. And I put this proof on the table. Immediately after that, the BJP started its work. My speech was expunged.”
Thereafter, Gandhi said, he’d written two letters to the Speaker, producing proof of what he’d said. ”I wrote a letter to the Speaker with a detailed explanation. On the defence industry, on the airports, with press clippings, supporting documents, legal documents. And said this is the supporting foundation of my speech.”
He said he explained he had not “invented this. This is detailed research. But nothing was revoked. My speech today is not a part of the records in Parliament”.
After this, in the current session of Parliament, when BJP leaders called for an apology from him for his alleged comments made in the UK, Gandhi said he approached the Speaker again.
“I wrote to the Speaker. I said it is my right as MP, when somebody makes an accusation, to state my position… The first letter was not answered. I wrote a second letter with more details…Still no answer.”
He added that he approached the Speaker. To that, he claimed, “the Speaker smiled, and said, ‘I cannot do that,” and invited him for tea instead.
‘Best gift BJP could’ve given me’
When asked if he was worried about the BJP’s narrative regarding the matter, Gandhi said, “Do I look worried?…I’m excited. These people have given me the best gift they could’ve given me.”
He also welcomed the reaction of other parties of the Opposition to his conviction and thanked them. “The panic reaction of the BJP will only help the Opposition,” he said.
When asked about the 2013 ordinance that he had junked which could have saved him from his present predicament, Gandhi once again said that such talk by the BJP was an attempt at distraction from the Adani issue.
“When somebody is guilty of something. They want to distract everybody’s attention,” he said. “My job is to defend the democratic nature of this country. And I will do whatever I have to do to defend it,” he added.
When asked about the BJP allegation that he insulted OBCs, Gandhi refused to answer, stating instead that the reporter was advocating for the BJP.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
