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Former Congress president and his entourage reach Surat, where he will file an appeal against his sentencing in a criminal defamation case
Ahead of his key hearing before the Surat court, Rahul Gandhi skips the key issue of whether he will apologise in court or prefer to go to jail.
The New Indian has been trailing the former Congress president on his way to Surat in an Indigo flight. Upon landing at Surat airport on Monday, Gandhi refused to answer a pointed question by The New Indian about whether he would apologise or prefer to go to jail for two years.
Gandhi is in Surat to 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. A Surat court on March 23 sentenced former Congress president Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail.
The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma held Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 499 and 500.
On Monday, April 4, 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 a 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.
However, the BJP was quick to criticise 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, Shehzad 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 apologise 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 an apology.”
In response, Bhupesh Baghel defended his decision to accompany Rahul, stating that he was going with his leader and that it could not be seen as putting pressure on the judiciary. “I am going with my leader (Rahul Gandhi); how can this put 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.
Gandhi is in Surat to 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.
