Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha under a conspiracy, said Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday.
Gandhi was disqualified as a Lok Sabha member on March 24, a day after he was sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case. “Rahul Gandhi’s membership of Parliament was terminated… This was done under a conspiracy,” Gehlot said.
The chief minister was speaking at the inauguration of the students’ union office at the government-run Dungar College in Bikaner.
Claiming that the success of Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ worried the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, Gehlot reiterated that democracy “is under threat” and “no one knows in which direction India is heading.”
In the yatra, Gandhi raised four issues — unemployment, inflation, increasing gap between poor and rich, and non-violence, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not address it. “The person who doesn’t believe in democracy, why would he(the PM) look into such issues. They are the people who wear mask of democracy to win the elections and form government and become PM,” he said.
Firing a salvo at the BJP, Gehlot asked, “How are you treating Rahul Gandhi, whose father and grandmother were martyred for the country? He was not allowed to speak in the Parliament.”
The CM continued that the agencies such as enforcement directorate, income tax are being misused, and judiciary is under pressure.
“Democracy will be alive only if the election commission conducts fair election,” he said.
Gehlot said that the state government is working with commitment for the upliftment and progress of the youth. The vision of the future is being realized by presenting a budget dedicated to youth and students. “Today, Rajasthan has become a leading state because of the important decisions and innovations taken in the education sector. The result of this is that the youth of the state are ahead in getting selected in the civil services,” he said.
“Education is the only powerful medium through which the youth can choose the right path for their future,” said the CM.
Gehlot said that it is our priority to provide employment to all. The state government is now trying to provide on-the-spot employment to the youth by organising 100 mega job fairs, he said. At present, thousands of youths have been provided employment by organising fairs in many cities including Jaipur, Bharatpur, Jodhpur and Bikaner. About 1.36 lakh government jobs have been given by the government, the same number are under process. One lakh more jobs will be given in the coming year, he said.
On this occasion, former minister of state for education and state Congress chief, Govind Singh Dotasara said that “democracy will be stronger only with student power.” “Youth move forward with positivity and play your important role in the progress of the country,” he said.
Reacting to the chief minister’s comments, BJP MLA Vasudev Devanani said, “Congress doesn’t believe in democracy and judiciary. The decision on Rahul is by judiciary, they can further appeal in upper court.”
“They are just politicising the issue to keep their party alive. The rules of disqualification were made by them,” the MLA said.
