Rahul Gandhi conviction by Surat court | We will take it to Sessions Court and higher courts, says Abhishek Singhvi
The Hindu
Rahul Gandhi conviction by Surat court | We will take it to Sessions Court and higher courts, says Abhishek Singhvi
On the conviction of former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi by the Surat Court, Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi, on March 23, 2023, said “We believe it is full of errors. Make no mistake that the attempt to have a chilling effect or a throttling effect will not have any effect on Rahul Gandhi or the Congress party.”
Mr. Singhvi said “This is the first decision and of the lowest judiciary. We will take it to the Sessions Court and higher courts.”
“There is a fundamental principle regarding defamation is that it should be against a specific person and not in generic terms. The first fundamental principle regarding defamatiom has been missing but has led to a conviction,” said the Congress leader.
Asked about a 2013 Supreme Court judgment that said if a lawmaker is convicted even by a trial court then the person stands disqualified, Mr. Singhvi said “I won’t get into that but, in any case, Rahul Gandhi has not been allowed to speak in Parliament”.
Mr Singhvi said when it comes to Mr Gandhi’s name, he doesn’t expect the government to give any reasonable time to start disqualification proceedings. “We are confident that we will get a stay,” he said.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.