Why no prominent Congress lawyer came to Rahul Gandhi’s aid when he was convicted in a defamation case that led to his expulsion from Parliament, asked Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday, wondering if it was deliberate and part of an intra-party conspiracy.
Thakur, addressing the ‘Times Network India Digital Fest’, also described Gandhi as a “loose cannon” and a “serial offender” who has seven cases of defamation in various courts even after being cautioned by the apex court.
The Information and Broadcasting Minister made it clear that neither the government nor the Lok Sabha secretariat had any role to play in the former Congress president’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha.
Thakur said that according to the Representation of the People Act, Rahul Gandhi stood disqualified the moment he was sentenced to a two-year jail term in a criminal defamation case.
The senior BJP leader wondered why none of the eminent lawyers sent by the Congress to the Rajya Sabha could be of any help in the defamation case against Gandhi. “Was it deliberate? Is there a conspiracy within the Congress? It is surprising that an entire battery of lawyers came to the rescue of Pawan Khera within an hour. Why did the Congress leader not move court in support of Rahul Gandhi? This is a big question,” Thakur said. “Who are these persons who hatched the conspiracy against Rahul Gandhi,” the Union minister asked.
