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The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress on Friday held a silent protest here against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha, terming it as "vendetta politics" of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Congress Jammu and Kashmir unit president Vikar Rasool Wani and a large number of Congress workers, wearing black bands and masks, protested outside the party headquarters at Shaheedi Chowk in Jammu to condemn the disqualification of their leader.

Vikar Rasool Wani said, “He fearlessly raised the voice of the common man, especially the poor, youth and women, and raised his voice against those who are looting taxpayers' money.

The state Congress president said that Rahul Gandhi is being punished for speaking the truth and raising the voice of the common man.

Senior Congress leader GA Mir said that Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha is a gross abuse of power by the Modi government as it cannot fight him politically.

GA Mir said, “India has never seen such vindictive politics and dictatorial rule.

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Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti said that Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha has vindicated her apprehensions expressed in London recently.

Mehbooba Mufti tweeted, “Rahul Gandhi has been clearly harassed by the central government to emerge as a powerful challenger ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Since the BJP cannot fight him politically, he is now breaking institutions because he has refused to name Savarkar.

The apprehensions he (Rahul Gandhi) expressed in London are sadly proving correct.

Commenting on Rahul Gandhi's disqualification, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami said that the central government is trying to control all institutions in the country for its own benefit.

Tarigami said, "I never thought that our country's democracy would fall like this."

For a long time, the government has been trying to take the Parliament and other institutions under its control.

National Conference (NC) spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said that today is not a good day for democracy.

He said, “The speed with which the Lok Sabha Secretariat has disqualified Rahul Gandhi raises many questions.

The second issue is that the defamation law under which this was done needs review.

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Significantly, Rahul Gandhi, representing the Wayanad parliamentary seat in Kerala, was on Friday disqualified from the membership of the Lok Sabha in view of his conviction in a defamation case by a Surat court.

In the notification issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, it has been said that his disqualification order will be effective from March 23.

A Surat court on Thursday sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years in prison in a criminal defamation case lodged against him in 2019 for his 'Modi surname' remark.

The court, however, also granted bail to Rahul and stayed the execution of his sentence for 30 days, so that he could challenge the verdict.

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