Tripura Cong welcomes SC verdict staying Rahul Gandhi’s conviction

Agartala, Aug 5 (PTI) The Congress’ Tripura unit on Saturday welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict staying the conviction of party leader Rahul Gandhi in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark.

Addressing a press conference here, Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee president Asish Kumar Saha said people of the northeastern state will be with Gandhi in his battle to “restore democratic values” in the country.

“We wholeheartedly welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict. Not only Congress leaders and workers, but people as a whole also got relief after the apex court’s judgement. Rahul ji has been working to save democracy. The disqualification of Gandhi from the Lok Sabha was a deep-rooted conspiracy,” he alleged.

Gandhi on Friday got a huge relief from the apex court after it stayed his conviction in the 2019 criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark and paved the way for his reinstatement as a Lok Sabha MP.

Senior Congress leader and MLA Sudip Roy Barman claimed that “Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha as he was raising people’s issues, such as price rise and unemployment, in the House”.

Roy Barman also accused the BJP and its associate organisations of “indulging in divisive politics” and “creating disturbances” in the state.