TMC, Left condemn disqualification of Rahul Gandhi; Cong supporters protest in Kolkata

With their limited strength, Congress supporters in Kolkata joined their counterparts elsewhere in the country to protest Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as a Lok Sabha member. Besides the Left, senior Trinamool leaders condemned the party in power at the Centre.

“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. Today, we have witnessed a new low for our constitutional democracy,” Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee stated on Twitter.

“Democratic India is an oxymoron now,” added Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s Lok Sabha MP, and national general secretary.

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Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, known for her bold speeches, tweeted the party’s stand: “The AITC strongly condemn the developments that have unfolded. Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification is the last nail in the coffin for constitutional freedoms in India.”

The Trinamool statements have condemned the development but have consciously stayed short of expressing any solidarity with the Congress itself, which retains the leading position in the Opposition space. The Trinamool has been trying to emerge as a Congress substitute against the BJP, nationally.

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, too, condemned the development. “It’s condemnable that the BJP is now using the criminal defamation route to target opposition leaders and disqualify them as done with Rahul Gandhi now. This comes on top of the gross misuse of ED/CBI against the opposition. Resist and defeat such authoritarian assaults,” he said.

The Left and Congress have maintained a political standing in regional politics.

A Congress representative said more protests are lined up in the districts in West Bengal, and programmes will proceed in line with directions provided by the party’s national headquarters.

Mamata panicked: Suvendu

BJP’s Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, claimed on Friday that Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee is herself ‘frightened’ as in more than one state she is facing similar cases.

Responding to a query on Mamata’s tweet concerning Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as MP, Adhikari recalled the instance of alleged disrespect to the national anthem by the chief minister, which is currently in court in Mumbai.

He compared the situation to that of Rahul Gandhi. Speaking in the context of the court’s judgement concerning Gandhi, he said that it has proved that no one is above the law of the land. “She is now panicking after the judgement of Rahul Gandhi,” he said.