The BJP Thursday hailed the Surat court’s decision to reject Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s plea for a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case as a “victory” of the judiciary and the people.

Hitting out at the Congress

BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said, “The court’s decision is a blow to the arrogance of the Gandhi family, especially Rahul Gandhi.” It also proves that the law is equal for everyone, he said at a press conference here.

A court in Gujarat’s Surat city on Thursday rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s application for a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname” remark.
The court of additional sessions judges R P Mogera rejected Gandhi’s application for a stay on conviction which, if allowed, could have paved the way for his reinstatement as the Member of Parliament.

With the court’s decision, one thing is clear “there is the rule of Constitution in this country, not the family. And there can’t be a preferential treatment for any family”, Patra said, recalling Congress MP Pramod Tiwari had said that Gandhi family should be treated differently by the law.

“This is the victory of the common people of India and the backward classes. This is also a huge victory of the judiciary,” the BJP spokesperson said, adding, “There is a festive atmosphere in the country.”

Patra alleged that the Congress was “mobilising its ecosystem” after Gandhi’s conviction in the case last month “to carry out a movement against the judiciary and even got statements issued against India”.

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“The Congress ecosystem created an atmosphere that there was bias against Gandhi in trial court judgment,” the BJP spokesperson alleged.

Slamming the Congress for raising questions on Gandhi’s conviction, Patra said, “Judiciary today said no matter how much pressure politics you resort to, we won’t buckle.”

“Today, two entities have been defeated. One is the arrogance of the Gandhi family and the entire ecosystem which comes out on the streets in defence of the Gandhi family.

“This ecosystem includes some very big people in the country and abroad who swiftly come out in defence of the Gandhi family’s arrogance,” the BJP spokesperson added.

The 52-year-old Congress leader was elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala in 2019 but was disqualified a day after the lower court last month sentenced him to two years in jail in the case filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi.

Patra said the trial court, before delivering its judgement in the defamation case, had given a chance to Gandhi to apologise for his remarks but the Congress leader replied that “the word sorry was not in his dictionary”.

“Rahul ji you apologised before the Supreme Court. So don’t say that the word sorry is not in your dictionary,” Patra said, asking Gandhi to give up “arrogance” and apologise to the OBC community for his ‘Modi surname’ remark.