"This shows the extent to which the BJP leadership is scared of Rahul Gandhi."
Describing Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as "an attack on progressive democratic forces," Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin today demanded the revocation of the action against the Wayanad MP.
Reacting strongly to the Lok Sabha action on disqualifying the former Congress president over his conviction by a Surat court in a criminal defamation case, Mr Stalin said, "I strongly condemn the fascist action of disqualifying the young leader of India, Rahul Gandhi, from the post of Member of Parliament."
"This intimidating tone of action appears to send a message across that even the leader of the national political party and MP does not have the democratic right to express his opinion," Mr Stalin, the DMK president, added.
An appeal is a fundamental right of anyone who is convicted and the judge had pointed this out in his judgment and gave 30 days' time for the Congress leader to respond, he said in a statement here.
"Disqualification of Rahul Gandhi by then is a deprivation of the democratic right of a MP. The Supreme Court had not upheld the 2-year imprisonment. The district Court had given only the verdict and there's an appeal in the High Court. The Supreme Court has to deliver the final verdict," he said.
On Thursday the local court in Gujarat's Surat sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail for criminal defamation for his "Modi surname" remark in the 2019 general election campaign in Karnataka, in a case filed against him by BJP legislator and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.
The Congress leader was granted bail and given a month's time to respond.
"This shows the extent to which the BJP leadership is scared of Rahul Gandhi. This is due to the huge impact Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra had created among the people. The Centre is unable to reply to the issues raised by Gandhi in Parliament. They had disqualified him fearing that his continued presence in the Parliament would cause a political crisis for the BJP," Mr Stalin claimed.
Through the action, the BJP has lost the ability to utter the word democracy. It is not befitting of the Central government to remain silent on questions raised in the Parliament.
"I request that the action on Rahul Gandhi be revoked. I request all Indian political parties to realise that the action against Rahul Gandhi is an attack on progressive democratic forces and oppose it in unison," Mr Stalin appealed.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)