‘Sankalp Satyagraha’

‘Sankalp Satyagraha’

Congress holds ‘Sankalp ‘Satyagraha’ at Rajghat over Rahul Ji’s ouster from Lok Sabha

New Delhi: The Congress launched a day-long ‘Sankalp Satyagraha’ at Rajghat in Delhi on March 26, 2023, against the ruling BJP over the conviction and disqualification of former Congress President and MP Shri Rahul Gandhi from the Parliament, in the middle of the city police imposing Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to prohibit gathering of more than five persons in the area, where his sister and Party General Secretary Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a coward and dared him to jail her too. Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge and Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the government of “trying to silence” a ‘martyr’s son’ for raising the voice of people.

Addressing the gathering, Congress President said that the BJP government and especially Modi ji are considering us weak. If someone, being arrogant, tries to crush us, then even we have the power to give a befitting reply to him. So, if someone tries to persecute us, stop us from speaking the truth, then we will continue to fight to walk with authenticity, to save the country, to save freedom, to save democracy, to save the Constitution, to save the freedom of speech and expression. No matter what sacrifices we have to make!

He said that this is what Rahul Gandhi Ji is doing. Against whom is he fighting- against those who are corrupt. For whom is Rahul Ji fighting- fighting for the people of this country, fighting for you, fighting for us, fighting for women, he is fighting for the youth who do not have employment, he is fighting to provide employment to them. Today the prices have gone up so high. He is fighting to bring them down, to improve the lives of the people and you file a case against him.

He further said that whatever happened in Kolar was during elections and it was not a matter of hurting anyone, but you brought the case of Kolar, which is in our Karnataka, to Surat - what is your intention? If any incident happens, it should have been reported in the same state. If you really had the courage, you would have brought that case in Karnataka, but where did you bring it - in Surat! You brought Rahul Ji to Surat, registered the case in Surat, called him repeatedly, listened to him, he did not say anything against anyone and no such defamation case was going to happen, but they (Modi Ji and BJP) had to silence Rahul Ji, who expresses his thoughts for truth and for people openly and fearlessly. They want Rahul Ji to be silenced, to dismantle the Congress Party, to silence the Congress Party - this is their idea. Why are they only following him, why not others - because he is the only strong person who is not afraid and does not cow down before anyone, this is his quality, no matter what come may! He is a man of words.

On Adani he said – The person whose net worth in 2014 was somewhere around 3,000 crores, then it increased to 50,000 crores, which further increased to 2,00,000 crores and finally in just two and a half years, it became 12,00,000 crores - our Rahul ji simply asked how this happened? If a person earns Rs.12,00,000 crores in just two and a half years, where did it come from, who gave it? And you go abroad with Adani, you take him along with you, when you came here to become Prime Minister, you came in his special plane to take oath - if we ask such things then we are ‘traitors’, if we say such things and keep it in front of the public, then it is a matter of difficulty for Modi, because Modi ji always wants that no one in this country should talk against him, there is no need to tell him any truth in this country.

This is what he had said when thousands of people had died in Ahmedabad. At that time, some journalist asked that so many people have died, don’t you feel sad? Then what did he say - that I was not the driver, I was sitting next to him, but if the driver kills a dog by mistake, then it definitely hurts, but he called the public a ‘DOG’ and such a man talks of OBCs today! Is Nirav Modi OBC? Is Mehul Choksi OBC? Is Lalit Modi OBC? They ran away after looting the country’s money, they are fugitives and if anything is said to the fugitives, then why does it hurt you? He didn’t take your name, he didn’t mention your name even once, he talked in general that there are fugitives in our country who are looting bank’s money, LIC’s money, small people who keep deposits in banks, those who pay their money for their life to LIC, you are giving that money to someone, they are looting public money, stop looting it – this is what Rahul ji had said.

Addressing the gathering Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “I still have that image of my father’s body draped in the tricolour and my brother performing the last rites—400 metres away from where I stand. My martyred father is insulted in Parliament. That martyred father’s son is called anti-national, Mir Jafar. Ministers have insulted my mother in Parliament. One of the Chief Ministers said that Rahul does not know who his father is,” she said.

Your Prime Minister cries in Parliament that why this family does not use the name ‘Nehru’? He insults the whole family. He ignores Kashmiri Pandits. But you don’t get a trial, you don’t get a sentence of two years. You don’t get jail sentence. No one is out of your Parliament. I vehemently seek the reason for such a corrupt approach.

Referring to the attack on the Gandhi family, she said that her family has nurtured the democracy of this country with their blood. “…..Should we be ashamed that our family members were martyred and that the tricolour has our family’s blood?”

She further said, “Sometimes I think and I do not understand what the public is thinking. Is the public not seeing what is happening? Don’t you see that all your wealth is being looted, given to one man, everything is being given to a few industrialists. Whose property is this? It is not Rahul Gandhi’s property? This is your property. Whose PSUs are these, made for whom – made for you, which are being sold to them one after the other. Your employment comes from them - small industries, small traders. It does not come from any big ‘Adani’. They don’t give you employment, they instead take away your employment. So, why don’t you understand? You are paying eleven hundred rupees for a gas cylinder and here your property is being handed over to someone.”

Have you ever thought about what is there in this Adani that you are giving all the wealth of the country to him. Twenty thousand of crores of rupees are in shell companies and you cannot inquire on him!

Why is there so much inflation? Can’t you reduce the price of a gas cylinder? You can’t help small businessmen, you can’t create employment, then of what use is your government - to suppress people or to promote Adani ji?

What is Rahul doing, he is raising your voice. What is he saying- he is saying that give the poor their rights, give their rights to the youth, give their rights to the women - Not to any big industrialist, who is a friend of the Prime Minister. This is your right and he is fighting for the same right.

The person who filed a complaint against Rahul ji in Surat, last year, he himself went to the court and asked to put a stay on it. Then when did you go back to get the case opened, a week after Shri Rahul Gandhi’s speech on Adani in Parliament. Within a month, the judge says that Shri Rahul Gandhi will be sentenced to two years. You have seen yourself that how many cases are there in this country that remain in jail for ten years, they are not heard. But the hearing in this case was done in a flash, the judgment was done in a flash, the punishment was also declared in a flash and you said the next day that he cannot contest elections for 8 years, he will be thrown out of the Parliament - Applause! You have a lot of patience (said while addressing the public).

The Prime Minister of this country is a coward. My family has taught me one thing that this country speaks from the heart and listens from the heart. This country recognizes the truth and I know that today is the day when everything will start to change. My media friends, I know that you are under pressure where lines are given to you that today you have to say this, you have to write this, but you have a huge responsibility. Today, democracy is in danger and it is not good for this country.

Strongly condemning the “erroneous conviction and disqualification” she said that Rahul is “not alone. Millions of Congressmen and crores of people irrespective of their political affiliations are with him in this fight for truth and justice.”

Congress’ top brass including President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, General Secretary Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra among other senior leaders like Shri KC Venugopal, Shri P. Chidambaram, Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, Shri Mukul Wasnik, Shri Jairam Ramesh and several senior leaders took part in the protest while a large number of Party workers gathered outside the venue despite the police refusing to grant permission for the ‘Satyagraha’.