Rahul could have apologised: Himanta
Rahul Gandhi could have apologised or withdrawn the comments for which he was sentenced by a Surat court, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday.
A slip of tongue sometimes happens and ‘’we have experienced it too, but we issue a statement apologising, saying it was unintentional. Gandhi could have done the same and the matter would have ended there’’, Sarma said on the sidelines of a programme here.
Gandhi, however, did not apologise nor withdraw the comments over the last five years which goes to ‘’show that it was intentional and made to abuse the OBC community,’’Sarma claimed, referring to the Surat court’s verdict convicting Gandhi in a defamation case and subsequent disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP.
Other chief ministers in the eastern region, many ruled by opposition parties have however come out against the disqualification.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday without naming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, said the country is witnessing a new low in a constitutional democracy.
“In PM Modi’s New India, Opposition leaders have become the prime target of BJP ! While BJP leaders with criminal antecedents are inducted into the cabinet, opposition leaders are disqualified for their speeches,” the fiery TMC Supremo said in a tweet.
Similarly, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren too on Friday attacked the BJP-led government at the Centre , termin gthe disqualification ‘Aapat Kaal’ (emergency) for the nation.
“In today’s ‘Amrit Kaal’ Opposition leaders are being coerced and silenced by using every tool of power by BJP and the Centre,” Soren said in a tweet.
“It is not that he had to apologise to any BJP members or Prime Minister Narendra but he did not do so and showed his arrogance’’, the Assam Chief Minister on Saturday said.
‘’This is a judicial process….a cycle and there is nothing political in it. The decision has been taken after a prolonged judicial process of five years’’, he said.
The chief minister referring to the judgement said ‘’Karma (destiny) has eventually caught up with him.” However, he indicated that judicial recourse remained is open, and Gandhi ‘’can challenge the verdict in the High court or Supreme Court’’, the Chief minister added.
RG challenging Modi unfortunate: Conrad
Correspondent
Shillong, Mar 25: Meghalaya Chief Minister and National People’s Party (NPP) president, Conrad Sangma on Saturday termed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s action of challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi as ‘unfortunate’ following his conviction in a defamation case by a Surat Court. “It was unfortunate that Gandhi was not accepting the court’s verdict and the rules of the ECI (Election Commission of India),” Sangma said.
The NPP, the first from the Northeastern region to attain the status of a national party, is an ally of the BJP. Sangma suggested that the former Congress president should accept the verdict of the court rather than attacking PM Narendra Modi.
“He should accept the rules laid down by the Election Commission of India,” the NPP Chief iterated.
It may be noted that during his election speech in 2019, Gandhi had insulted Narendra Modi and ridiculed that people with the surname Modi were all “thieves”. “Such a statement is an insult not just to the PM of the nation but also to the entire OBC community,” Sangma said.
Sangma further asked Rahul Gandhi to apologise for his statement and focus on course correction rather than challenging the Prime Minister at this moment. When asked whether this situation would impact the prospects of the Congress in the upcoming 2024 election, Sangma opined that it would undoubtedly impact the Congress prospects in 2024.
“The Congress faced a difficult situation in 2014 and 2019, and this situation would further impact the Congress in the coming 2024 elections,” he said.
