"We will appeal in sessions court": Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Rahul Gandhi's disqualification

Rahul Gandhi, on Friday, was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha, a day after a Surat court sentenced him to two years imprisonment in a defamation case filed against him over his 'Modi surname' remark.

Days after his disqualification as MP following a Surat court's verdict in a criminal defamation case, the Housing Committee of Lok Sabha has sent Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a notice to vacate the government bungalow allotted to him, sources said.

They said Rahul Gandhi has been asked to vacate 12, Tughlaq Lane in the national capital.

Reacting to the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as an MP and the notice of the Housing Committee of LS, Khurshid said, "We will appeal in sessions court and if we are not satisfied we will go to the High Court and to the Supreme court as well. We are sure that we will get relief."

"We will not let Rahul Gandhi leave his official residence. He has been asked to vacate the home because he is not willing to succumb and wants a discussion on Adani's issue."

Congress has been demanding the constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee over the Adani Group issue.

Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha triggered a massive political row with the BJP stating that the Congress leader was "a habitual loose cannon" and the Congress alleging that he was got "deliberately disqualified".

Talking about Rahul Gandhi's remark in England regarding the country's democracy, Khurshid said, "Nobody can complain about what Rahul Gandhi said in a University in England. Even then he was ready to explain himself in parliament but isn't allowed to and then he was expelled from the parliament."

While addressing a lecture at Cambridge University in London in the past few weeks, Rahul Gandhi said, "Everybody knows and it's been in the news a lot that Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack. I am an Opposition leader in India, we are navigating that (Opposition) space. The institutional framework which is required for a democracy; Parliament, free press, the judiciary, just the idea of mobilisation, moving around all are getting constrained. So, we are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy."

Rahul Gandhi's remarks drew flak from the ruling party, which demanded an "apology" from him. However, Congress hit back alleging that it is the Prime Minister who "discredited" the country's achievements since Independence. (ANI)