Rahul Gandhi, along with top Congress leaders including General Secretary Ajay Maken, Punjab MLA Pratap Bajwa, and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, flew to Surat to file an appeal challenging his conviction by lower court in a show of strength and solidarity. During the flight, Rahul occupied the aisle seat while his sister Priyanka Gandhi sat beside him wearing black as a mark of protest.
It is noteworthy that The New Indian is the only media outlet present on the IndiGo flight.
However, the BJP was quick to criticize the move, calling it “pressure tactics” and “tamasha” by Rahul Gandhi to influence the judiciary. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra accused Gandhi of making derogatory remarks about the OBC community and seeking to pressurize the country’s judiciary. “Rahul Gandhi made shameful remarks about the OBC community. Now, he is making a ‘fanfare movement’ to Surat with lots of people. Is this the way to appeal? Rahul Gandhi is trying to pressurise the country’s Judiciary,” said BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra.
Another BJP spokesperson, Shahzaad Poonawala also joined in the criticism, questioning why the Congress needed to stage a ‘shakti pradarshan’ or ‘bhakti pradarshan’ while filing an appeal against Rahul’s conviction. Instead, he suggested that they should apologize to the OBC samaj and file an appeal before them.
“Why does Congress need to do a shakti pradarshan or bhakti pradarshan while filing an appeal against Rahul’s conviction in Surat? If anything they must file an appeal before the OBC samaj and seek apology.”
In response, Bhupesh Baghel defended his decision to accompany Rahul, stating that he was going with his leader, and it could not be seen as pressure on the judiciary. “I am going with my leader (Rahul Gandhi), how can this be pressure on the judiciary?”
Jairam Ramesh, the party’s communication in-charge, tweeted about reports of illegal arrests of Congress leaders and workers by the BJP government in Gujarat to prevent them from going to Surat. He condemned these activities and demanded their immediate release.
On Monday, Rahul Gandhi will file an appeal in a sessions court in Gujarat’s Surat against a lower court order that found him guilty of criminal defamation for his ‘all thieves have Modi surname’ remark. The comment was made in April 2019 in Karnataka’s Kolar while campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress has accused the Modi government of targeting Rahul because of his recent attacks on PM Narendra Modi’s alleged links to billionaire Gautam Adani. The BJP, however, claims that this is simply a case of the law taking its own course.
If Rahul’s conviction is not overturned, he will stand disqualified from contesting elections for the next eight years.